The Sakamaki Brides- Experimental Love
by Nique116
Summary: Now that three of the brothers have found their "Soul Mates," Reiji realizes that their father, Karl Heinz, is sending each brother a bride ... hand-selected. But when his bride-to-be shows up on the manor's front porch in a hospital nightgown and apologizes for her utter lack of manners, Reiji finds his curiosity about this girl goes deeper than a potential test subject. Part 3.
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N: I know I've been on hiatus for a long time, but I finally got back into the show again, and I felt like I wanted to explore the characters I had created for the brothers, picking my series up with Reiji. Thank you so much to anyone who reads this, especially to those of you who favorited and followed so long ago. Please comment if you have ideas or suggestions, I always take those under consideration when I'm crafting chapters. Please enjoy. ~Nique**_

Ch. 01: The Miracle Cure

It was not a difficult trend to pick up on. And yet, Reiji seemed to be the only one of this brothers who had caught onto _his_ plan, with the exception, perhaps, of his older brother, whose mind he had never been able to successfully comprehend. Usually, his brother proved himself to be of the most reprehensible kind, lazy and foul-minded, with a haughty disregard for authority that enraged his envious younger brother. Though at times, it seemed, even to Reiji, that Shu possessed a knowledge and a power that even he would never be able to match.

Shaking off such... _distasteful_ thoughts, Reiji laid his knife and fork to the side of his china plate and dismissed his brothers from their monthly dinner party, which had, as of late, become a much more _trying_ experience, due to the inclusion of his brothers' new mates, whose deplorable manners and infuriating temperaments made the otherwise serene affair intolerably noisy and vexing.

"Nfu~, Come on, Neko-chan, I think it's time for dessert." Laito gripped his mate's hand and led her, blushing profusely, but still giggling, from the room. Ayato also proclaimed loudly that he was going to his room with his vampirette mate, the newly-turned Yui. He made it very clear that his brothers "were not to touch what belongs to Ore-sama." Reiji sighed and reminded him to keep any and all lewd activities within the boundaries of his own chambers. Shu and his mate simply stood and disapparated without a word. As Kanato and Subaru stood, the maids came to take away the dishes, and Reiji was free to return to his lab. Sinking into his chair, he opened the notebook where he had recorded the data from one of his latest experiments. Finally, some peace and quiet.

Hacking and coughing, Masumi laid on her back in the hospital bed. Despite the fact that the nurses were trying to keep her in good spirits, Masumi was too intelligent to miss the signs and the pitying looks. She was dying. This was her fourth hospital bed. She'd come to this place because the doctors promised they could extend her life for several years, at least, but it had only been two months since she'd arrived, and already her condition was deteriorating.

 _The doctors must have run hundreds of thousands of tests_ , she thought to herself, _but all of them show that I'm in perfect health. And yet..._ At that moment, another wave of coughing wracked her frame, leaving her throat sore and her body exhausted. Without a diagnosis, the doctors couldn't treat her, and so she was dying a slow, torturous death. They tried to keep her comfortable, at least, but she knew it wouldn't be long.

 _Would death really be so bad_ , she mused, s _ince Papa passed and Mama hardly even acknowledges my existence? Perhaps I'd be doing her a favor. Raising me seemed such an inconvenience for her_... Shaking off such thoughts, Masumi combed her hair into a top bun, leaving two wisps on either side of her face loose. Looking at herself in her bedside mirror, Masumi sighed and sat up straighter. She could hear his dress shoes clicking on the floor as he made his way down the corridor, her mysterious visitor. She'd only just been informed of his arrival, but she tried to at least present herself decently.

And then, there he was, his large frame filling the doorway. He was tall but trim, and most of his expansiveness came from his powerful presence, rather than his physical appearance. As he entered the room, Masumi noted his expensive three-piece suit, his Italian leather shoes and his striking gaze. Quick on her feet as always, Masumi spoke first.

"You're Sakamaki Tougo-sama, correct? I must confess I was not expecting such a high-profile politician, today." The man smiled and bowed slightly.

"I see introductions will not be necessary then, Miss Yatari-san. How are you feeling today?" Masumi bowed her head slightly in acknowledgement.

"As well as can be expected. Forgive me for being so forward, Sakamaki-sama, but what are you doing here?" Tougo smiled, but rather than being reassured, Masumi found his smile disturbing. There was something about this man that gave her the creeps. Reaching out to grasp her wrist, Tougo brought her hand to his lips, placing a sweet kiss there. Masumi resisted the urge to yank her arm away.

"Why, sweet child, your father and I were old friends. I was so sorry to hear about his passing a few months ago. I quite enjoyed his company when we were brought together by business and politics, you know how it is. When I heard my friend's daughter was in the hospital with what can only be described as an incurable disease, I knew I had to take action." Masumi was not placated by his story, and felt wary, but curious.

"What do you mean, 'take action'? I have seen the finest doctors in the world, and none can even diagnose me. What makes you so sure you can?" Tougo released her hand and walked to the window, looking out at the hospital courtyard below, where patients got a little fresh air and sunshine while undergoing treatment.

"Yes, you've seen some of the greatest doctors in the world... but not all of the greatest scientists. You see, medicine is a tricky thing. Many scientific advances take years, decades even, to make it to the doctors, and even longer to make it to the patients who need it most. Bureaucracy, you understand. But you don't have that much time to wait, do you, Miss Yatari?" Tougo turned to face her. "Looking at you, I'd say you have a few months, at most. But I am here because I can offer you something that none of your doctors can... a chance." Masumi was speechless.

"If that's true, I'm sure you would not give such a thing out of the kindness of your heart, Sakamaki-sama, after all, you're a politician. Very well, I have experience dealing with people on the upper echelons of society, thanks to my father. I know how you think; this miracle cure comes at a price; money, notoriety, power... So what can I offer you, Sir?" Tougo's lips twitched, as if he were restraining the urge to chuckle.

"Oh I quite like you. Yes, you'll do just fine. You're right, of course, my services do come at a price, though not likely one you're expecting... In exchange for my help, I require you to come to live in my manor, and apprentice under my son. He's a scientist himself, one with a brilliant mind, if I may say so. I've heard you're quite gifted in the arena of academics as well, Miss Yatari, so you should have no issue assisting another academic. What do you say, Masumi-san?"

Masumi met and held the politician's gaze for several long moments. Eventually, she leaned forward.

"I know what you are, Tougo-sama, I'm not stupid, and in fact, I'm fairly observant. If I accept your offer, and come to live in your house, how can I be assured of my safety? I know nothing about your son, or his appetites. I would rather die of my own accord than at the hands of some mad adolescent scientist with a taste for Type B." This time Tougo did laugh, a terrifying sound, like nails on a chalkboard, like a smoker of 30 years, like a wail of despair, so was the tenor of his laugh. Masumi hoped never to hear it again.

"Very well, I shall also guarantee you your life. Understandably, I cannot promise you total safety, but my sons are still beholden to me, and they will do as I command. I will not allow them to put you in any mortal danger." Masumi searched his eyes and found sincerity. He could be lying, but she would have to chance it. A shot at a new life, away from her absent mother and the memories of her dead father? An opportunity to pursue her love of science and other academia? The assurance of several more years, at the very least? How could she pass this up? Sitting up straight again, he back resting against the pillows, she nodded slowly and stuck out her hand.

"Then we have a deal, Mr. Sakamaki-sama." A cool hand met hers, shaking gently but sincerely.

"I shall take care of this issue myself. Do call me to tell me how you feel in the morning, dear?" Masumi found a white business card in her palm, with only his name and phone number printed in dark black letters. When she looked up from the card in her hand to agree, however, he was gone. And Masumi was alone again.

Her heart monitor beeped steadily, and Masumi relaxed, allowing her body to sag back into the cushions. Just that short encounter had tired her nearly to her limits. The effort of maintaining such an austere facade had nearly taken all of her strength. She doubted she would feel any differently in the morning, but deep inside here, there was a hope, a small flame flickering weakly, but burning nevertheless.

 _Please_ , she prayed to whoever was listening, _let this work_.

The next morning came far too slowly for Masumi. The early morning rays had just begun to touch her face when her eyes snapped open, her muscles tensing as she felt an indescribable need to either fight or flee. Who was in her room? Sitting up quickly, Masumi flung her legs over the side of the bed, not wanting to be trapped in her sheets should she need to make a run for it. It took her a few moments to recognize her mother, so rarely had she visited Masumi's hospital room.

"Mother, what are you doing here?" She asked, once she had calmed down a bit.

"So I take it the cure worked then?" her mother ignored her question. "No more pain? You've at least got a bit more color in your cheeks than the last time I saw you. Sign this, we're leaving." The woman thrust the papers at her daughter, sweeping what books Masumi had sitting on her nightstand into a bag and rising quickly. Masumi quickly signed her name on the discharge papers and followed her mother down the hall, only a blanket wrapped around her in her thin hospital gown.

"Mother did you at least bring me a change of clothes? I can't very well greet anyone in this." He mother stopped sharply and looked her daughter up and down coldly.

"No, I didn't think to. But it's no matter, I think this look quite suits you." With a cruel smile, she turned again and proceeded out the front doors of the hospital. There was a car waiting for them, and Masumi and her mother were ushered into it promptly.

The drive was long and awkward. Masumi had nothing to say to her mother, and her mother clearly felt the same way. She stared out of the side window with a bored expression. Masumi tried to configure her hospital attire into something remotely presentable. She settled on turning the blanket into a long skirt, which laid over her hospital gown, covering the most important bits and creating something of an ensemble.

Nearly as she tied the last knot of her make-shift skirt, the car pulled up in front of a massive wrought-iron gate, which opened to reveal a tall, foreboding manor house. As the car stopped, the driver got out to open the door for the two women, and Masumi climbed out, waiting for her mother to follow. But she didn't.

Thrusting the bag of books into her daughter's arms, Mrs. Yatari looked her daughter straight in the eye:  
"You've been given a wonderful opportunity, which frankly, you don't deserve. Don't mess it up."

With that the door swung shut and Masumi found herself on the front steps of a new home, where she didn't know anyone, in nothing but her hospital gown/blanket outfit.

 _Great_ , she thought, and rang the doorbell.


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N: Sorry this update took so long, I took my time settling into the new quarter. I'm starting to map out in my mind how I want the individual pieces of this story to go, so if you have suggestions please comment and I'll take them into consideration. Enjoy!**_

Ch. 02: The Research Team

Looking up at the large, ornate door, Masumi waited for someone to answer the doorbell. But no one came. After a few minutes, Masumi looked around helplessly. _Maybe they're outside and didn't hear the bell? Should I ring it again?_ Masumi had just stretched out her hand to do so when the door opened suddenly. A tall, dark-haired man in a three-piece suit stood in the open door. Flustered, Masumi simply stared.

"May I help you?" the man asked, his tone evident of his annoyance as he looked her up and down disdainfully. This broke Masumi of her stupor and she immediately bowed low.

"I am so sorry, you frightened me. My name is Yatari Masumi. I was instructed to come here to live for a while. I deeply apologize for my attire and my disgraceful lack of manners a few moments ago, this was rather a sudden arrangement, you see." The tall man pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"I was not made aware of your arrival, Miss Yatari, so it seems I have also been caught in a lack of manners. I am, however, determine to get to the bottom of this miscommunication, so please, do enter." He held the door open for her, and as she stepped inside, a maid appeared seemingly out of nowhere to take her bag. As the one maid faded into the shadows at the edge of the dimly-lit foyer, another appeared at Masumi's right elbow, holding out what seemed to be a dress in Masumi's size.

"Thank you," Masumi said in surprise, taking the dress gratefully. The dark-haired man pointed to a nearby alcove with one gloved hand.

"Please change over there, Miss Yatari, I'm afraid I can't allow you to meet the rest of the household in such... deplorable fashion." Ignoring the dig, Masumi rushed over to the alcove and undressed as quickly as possible, once she made sure she was out of sight. The dress was simple, an unpatterned blue dress fell gracefully across her thin, pale shoulders, settled under her bust and then flared out around her knees. Her black slippers would go nicely with the ensemble. Folding her previous "garments," Masumi rejoined the young man in the foyer. Looking her over with a critical eye, the gentleman gestured up the central staircase.

"This way, Miss Yatari." He swept ahead, moving quickly enough that Masumi was forced into a brisk stride in order to keep up with him. His lips twitched almost imperceptibly.

He led her to a large room at the top of the stairs, sitting in an arm chair away from the door. Masumi knew better than to sit before she was invited to do so. She managed to stand pleasantly, quiet but alert, despite the awkwardness of the situation. There was silence in the room for several long moments before the man spoke again.

"You may sit, Miss Yatari, my brothers should arrive shortly." Masumi bowed her head slightly in deference before settling lightly on the couch cushions behind her. Just then, several people appeared in the room at once and seemingly from nowhere, startling Masumi, though she worked hard not to make any unsightly noises. A quick glance back at the man who'd answered the door told Masumi she had not been very successful in hiding her surprise from him, anyway, as he sniffed.

The new arrivals were not as quiet or reserved as the other man, however, and made their presence known quite loudly.

"Oi! There'd better be a good reason for waking Oresama up this early! Chichinashi and I had just gone to sleep!" A small blonde girl peeked around the abrasive redhead, her hair a little disheveled but her smile intact.

"Ayato-san, I think we have a new guest. She doesn't know our sleeping schedule yet," she soothed.

"That's no excuse! Why should Oresama have to get up for her? Your body makes the best pillow for sleeping on, and we were disturbed for this?" He gestured toward Masumi, who was sitting on the couch a little less primly. She blushed slightly.

"I do apologize if my arrival interrupted your sleep, Sir." The dark-haired man who answered the door waved a hand.

"Enough, Ayato, your crass speech is desecrating my ears. I will introduce the household and then you may go. Subaru is on the way, and as usual," he said, his voice deepening into a growl of intense hatred, "that filthy, lazy, good for nothing will arrive last," he practically spat. Masumi looked at him in surprise. He seemed far too polite to ever address anyone in such a manor and Masumi was curious as to what kind of person could arouse such animosity in the young man.

Two of the other inhabitants who had entered the room spoke for the first time.

"~Nfu, Neko-chan and I were in the middle of something, so make this quick so we can go back to it, hmm?" The other redheaded man giggled and the girl he held tightly around the waist blushed, but seemed rather unaffected otherwise. Masumi had been steadfastly ignoring them until then because they had been very publicly and voraciously making out and flirting with each other. The young man who seemed to be in charge turned his attention on them next.

"I have told you repeatedly to keep such activities to your own room. Restrain yourselves for only a few more moments." His voice held such authority that Masumi was again surprised that the couple did not immediately leap to attention. Instead, the redhead pushed his partner up against the nearest wall, caging her in with one hand while he proceeded to fondle her with the other. At least they were more discreet there.

Masumi did let out a small squeak when a purple-haired boy materialized next to her on the couch.

"They always display this pathetic behavior in public, ne, Teddy?" Looking down slightly, Masumi realized that the tired-looking boy clutched a stuffed bear with an eye patch quite closely to his chest, and it was to this doll that he spoke. She worked hard to resist the urge to scoot away from him.

"Ne, can we eat her so Teddy and I can go back to bed? She'd make a pretty doll, but I'm too tired to work on her tonight." More quietly, he whispered to the bear, "It wouldn't take long, though, her skin is almost the right color, so pale and smooth... I'd give her blue eyes, I think. She'll look good in the long-cut dress..." Masumi stopped listening, her pulse elevated as it sunk in all at once the sort of situation she was in. She had knowingly agreed to live at the Sakamaki mansion, but face to face with the insanity of the room, she the only human, Masumi had a momentary spike of fear and adrenaline.

"You reek of fear. It woke me up," a white-haired boy spoke, cracking the wooden railing as he gripped it. He too had appeared out of thin air. The purple-headed boy"mmm-ed" in agreement.

"It was suddenly unpleasant. But the way she tried to hide it was wonderful. It made me want to scare her more... Ne, won't you show me that face again? I want to see you break." He leered at her with his wide, sunken eyes.

Masumi was feeling terribly uncomfortable, but she understood that it would be a grave error to let these sadistic vampires know that. She couldn't help the way she smelled, but she could choose not to get riled up. Turning slowly toward the white-haired boy, Masumi again apologized for disturbing their rest. The only response she got was a brisk ''tch" as the boy turned away from her.

Masumi could almost feel the tension in the air as they all waited for someone else to arrive. At some point the dark-haired boy had acquired a folder of documents, which he now shut as he looked up at the clock and shook his head in disgust, taking another sip of his tea. The two couples continued their personal "conversations," while the purple-haired boy leered at her and whispered to his teddy bear. The white-haired boy avoided eye-contact. Behind her, the clock ticked the seconds by so slowly that it seemed an eternity passed between ticks. Finally, a new female voice spoke from the shadows.

"I apologize for our tardiness, it was rather difficult to convince Shu to get up, since I've just returned from the tour." The pink-haired vampirette was beautiful, and somehow very familiar. The blonde-haired vampire reclining on the couch behind where she sat perched on the edge had one arm around her waist. He said nothing, and didn't even open his eyes, but the dark vampire who'd greeted her at the door seemed to take this couple's arrival as his cue to begin. He set his teacup down on the saucer with a soft but distinct clink, and stood.

"Now that we have all gathered, I shall introduce the rest of the household. The lazy, no good over there is Sakamaki Shu, the eldest. His mate," he said through clenched teeth, "is Nakamura Sachiko-" she interjected, " Just call me Chiko." The tall young man said nothing for a moment, and only tightened his lips the slightest amount. Masumi realized she had been studying his face for a moment too long when he turned and they made eye contact. His eyes were a deep shade of red. How unusual. But then, vampires are not all that ordinary.

"I am Sakamaki Reiji, the second son. Over there is Sakamaki Ayato,`the third son, and his mate Komori Yui. Sakamaki Kanato," he gestured to her side where the purple-headed boy sat still clutching the bear, "is the fourth son. Sakamaki Laito is the fifth son, and he is currently attempting to devour his mate Kashimoto Kimi. And finally, the one attempting to crack that banister into splinters is Sakamaki Subaru, the sixth son." Masumi nodded at each brother or couple respectively.

When Reiji had finished his introduction, Ayato made only a "tch" sound as he and his mate disappeared, presumably back to bed. The other two couples did likewise, and Masumi found herself alone with three brothers: Reiji, the leader, Kanato, the disturbed, and Subaru, the tsundere.

 _Oh boy, this will be fun_ , Masumi thought to herself. But before the other two brothers could speak or make a move, Reiji moved to stand directly in front of her and she craned her neck to look up into his slightly smiling face. His smile was not at all comforting, and in fact it was rather unsettling. Masumi swallowed thickly as he pinned her with his burning red gaze. He slowly extended one gloved hand.

"Miss Yatari, if you'll come with me. I am correct in assuming you have been sent as my research assistant. I have several things I would like to get started with right away." Masumi did not ask how he knew that. He probably had also seen her qualifications and medical reports, hell, he probably had footage of her as a child wandering around with her father. She accepted his hand and rose as delicately as possible.

"I look forward to working with you," she murmured. His smile grew and Masumi's stomach dropped. This day would not end well for her.


	3. Chapter 3

_**A/N: So Masumi's character took a different turn from what I had originally intended, but I rather like her as she is now... Sometimes you just gotta let them create themselves. Anyway, enjoy, and as always, please follow/favorite and comment for more!**_

 _ **~Nique**_

Ch. 03: A Clashing of Wills

Reiji was very well mannered. Masumi found herself being escorted out of the room and down the hall, rather than ushered, her arm tucked neatly in his. He said nothing, facing forward, so she said nothing, instead looking around at the manor as he led her. She noticed that some of the woodwork along the door frames and baseboards looked newer than in other areas. The wallpaper changed subtly as they progressed down the hall. Breaking the silence, Masumi made small talk.

"Did you do some renovating lately?" she asked mildly. He spared her a glance, pushing his glasses up his nose before he answered.

"You're rather observant. Yes, parts of the manor were... damaged," he replied, smirking slightly," so they've been rebuilt. As we're still in the process of finishing the work, some of the discrepancies in the wood finish and wallpaper have yet to be corrected." She nodded her understanding. As there was nothing else for her to say, she trailed off awkwardly, letting the silence envelop them again. Finally they reached a doorway where Reiji stopped and pulled a key out of his pocket.

"I do not keep my laboratory open for anyone to peruse, and I dislike interruptions caused by my brothers and their idiotic mates. Should I command you to enter it without me, I will provide you with the key." With that he unlocked the door and stepped inside, letting go of her arm. "Please enter." Masumi stepped inside.

Though on the outside it looked like just another bedroom or sitting room, inside the room had very intentionally been turned into a laboratory. It was no less lavish than the other rooms of the house, the carpet and walling was elegant, and the large desk sitting perpendicular to the floor-to-ceiling bookshelves gave the room an air of intense study and business. An unlit fireplace across from the large stiff-backed arm chair alluded to its perhaps original purpose as a sitting room. But the center of the room was dominated by a massive table, and its counter top was home to countless glass beakers and vials, a neatly arranged set of forceps, pipettes, picks and other assorted tools, a mortar and pestle set, and an old-fashioned measurement scale. Against the far wall, locked cabinets held many other scientific instruments, Masumi was sure, and the shelves above the cabinets hosted an impressive collection of bottled substances and live plants, three of which, she noticed, were highly poisonous. Overhead, the bright light fixture seemed almost surgical as it bathed the table below, and Masumi wondered absently if he ever did any dissections or surgical work to necessitate such a lamp. Along the wall, Masumi noticed several framed scientific awards and a few conferred medical degrees. Wasn't Reiji still in high school?

Large windows looked out onto a courtyard below, and it was in front of these windows that Reiji had moved. His back to her and his arms clasped there, he gazed out.

"Have you finished your inspection, Miss Yatari?" he asked rather stiffly. Masumi blushed.

"I beg your pardon, Reiji-san, I was awed by your collection and the atmosphere of the room." Turning around to face her, he narrowed his eyes.

"Indeed... I have, of course, been made aware of your own achievements. I suppose people tell you often that you're very impressive, that you're very bright and very gifted." Masumi stiffened as he strode toward her and grasped her chin with his gloved hand, tilting her face up so she looked directly at him. "But make no mistake, Miss Yatari, I will have you know your place, or I will beat it into you." He released her just as suddenly as he had trapped her. Still looking into her eyes, he explained, "You may have once been someone important in the mortal world, but you have made a deal with the devil, and now you belong to me. Humans are nothing more than blood bags to me, and you will do well to remember that." He expected her to be left speechless, to simper and cower under the weight of that threat. What he did not expect was her laughter.

"Hmm, oh I'm sorry, Reiji-san, I'm not laughing at you... Well perhaps I am. You know you and your father have very similar eyes. Oh yes, I did make a deal with your father, but I knew the risks, and I chose to come here of my own volition. I know perfectly well what you are, and how your tastes tend toward... hmm, bloody and sadistic pleasures, but let me assure you, Reiji-san, I am not afraid of you. Pain has become my second shadow, but I belong to no one. Your father's price was that I agree to live here and apprentice under you. I do not doubt you are a wonderful scientist indeed, and I truly do relish this opportunity to learn." Masumi took one step forward, tilting her head up defiantly so she again locked eyes with the dark-haired brother. "But I made sure I had your father's word that I will live through this experience. You can hurt me but you cannot kill me, and you would do well to remember that," she nearly whispered the final phrase. She expected fury and violence to accompany her final words, but she in turn was surprised when he merely pulled off his white glove and laid it on the counter top. Removing his glasses he leaned in close to her and flashed his fangs.

"I did not give you enough credit, Miss Yatari, I underestimated your foolish pride. I will break you yet, Miss Ya-"

"Call me Masumi, we'll be working closely together and formalities waste precious time," she interrupted. His hand shot out and wrapped itself firmly around her neck. He squeezed just slightly, but Masumi felt no pain.

"You will not interrupt me again," he said in a deep voice. His thumb stroked the side of her jaw. "There are things worse than death," he mused as he leaned into her, pressing her back against the counter as his leg slipped between hers, pinning her in a decidedly dominant position. His fangs neared her throat as she merely smiled slightly.

"And I have tasted those, too. Do your worst, Sensei." The bite came quickly, his sharp fangs sliding into the pale, smooth skin at her neck, his hot mouth closing over her skin, drawing her blood up to meet his eagerly waiting tongue.

The bite itself hurt very little. Masumi was very accustomed to need pricks, and this simply felt like two needles at once. It was the sucking that hurt. Masumi could feel her skin bruising, but focused instead on finding an escape route. Pulling away from Reiji would require her to rip her neck away from his fangs, which would be dangerous and painful. Even if she managed to do it, she couldn't escape from his embrace: one hand was wrapped around her right wrist like a shackle, the other wrapped around her and keeping her head still while he drank. Lifting his lips from her skin, Reiji watched as the two wounds dripped crimson blood, wiping at it with his right hand, the one holding her steady. He licked his fingers, watching her expression. Masumi understood why he'd removed his glove. His eyes glistening, he roughly turned her head to the other side, biting into her again. After three pulls, Masumi felt light-headed and would have buckled had Reiji not been keeping her up with that hand around her.

"You are mine, and I will mark it on your body so you will never forget," he whispered this promise as she slipped under.

Her last thought was _Damn, I might have taken the bravado a bit too far. Oops._

Masumi woke up on her back in a large bed. Blinking slowly, she tried to take stock of her surrounding. Thick wooden bed frame, black pillows and covers, deep blue silk sheets. In this room too there were floor-to-ceiling book shelves, a fireplace and a large armchair, where Reiji sat with a book in his lap. Without looking up from its pages, he spoke.

"It's disrespectful to make your host go out of their way to accommodate you, Masumi-san," his voice was deep but calm. Masumi sat up carefully. She didn't move from the bed, but made a little bow as best she could.

"I apologize for putting you out, Reiji-san, but I wouldn't have had to burden you if you had been able to restrain yourself," she said rather defiantly. The book snapped shut, and a gloved hand pushed the glasses up the bridge of his nose so his eyes were obscured by the glare the lights made on the reflective surface.

"Restraint. Interesting you should mention that." He stood and strode across the room, leaning over Masumi as she recoiled into the sheets, his body pressing hers down until her back hit the pillow and his arms closed in like a cage around her. He stared into her eyes for a tense moment before he broke the contact, reaching with one hand above her head to grasp something attached to the bed frame. He pulled it into her field of vision and her eyes widened as her heart sped up.

"I could have chained you to my bed, kept you immobile and helpless, bound to my every whim and will, Miss Yatari. As I mentioned before, you belong to me..." he paused and dropped the cuff. "But I have use for you elsewhere, and keeping you trapped here would run the risk of wearing you out too quickly. No, I have other plans for you, Miss Yatari, but remember I am prepared for every eventuality." He straightened and Masumi let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding.

Reiji held out his gloved right hand, and Masumi took it tentatively, allowing him to help her out of bed. Her dress fell neatly back into place and she was led through not the front door to the room, but toward the bookshelf, which slid aside when they drew close, to reveal the entrance to his laboratory. She glanced behind her as the bookshelf slid back into place. Reiji sniffed.

"It opens in response to my power. Should I require you to use that entrance, this will act as your security clearance." He held up a tiny vial on a silver chain. Masumi stared at the dark liquid encased within.

"Is that...?" she breathed incredulously. Reiji dropped her hand and turned her around to fasten it around her neck. The clasp slid into place but he held her there a moment longer.

"It is a small measure of my blood. It is powerful enough to give you access to this room, but I warn you: Should you use this to enter the laboratory without my permission or move in any way to jeopardize the integrity of my sanctum or person, you will be immediately and severely punished. Do you understand?" Masumi nodded and he let her go.

"Do not lose this gift." Masumi grasped the small vial in her hand, nodding her understanding again. She tucked it under the neckline of her dress for safekeeping. Reiji turned to the central table.

"Very well. Let's begin."


	4. Chapter 4

_**A/N: Sorry this took so long, I had most of it done, but it felt so rushed and disjointed and I didn't like it... I'm still not loving it, but I'm excited for what's coming in the next chapter, so be on the lookout for that. In other news, I'm working on two thesis projects, studying for the GRE, and applying for grad schools, so please just bear with me.**_

 _ **~Nique**_

Ch. 04: Methods

"I did not anticipate I would have to remind you to refill the pipettes each morning. Your laziness will not be tolerated," Reiji scolded, turning his page. They were in the kitchen, and Reiji was brushing up on yesterday's chemical warfare briefing, courtesy of the CIA, and definitely illegally obtained. Masumi still found Reiji's sense of morality difficult to puzzle out. He seemed a stickler for rules and decorum when it came to some things, and not to others. For example, he still found Masumi's sleeping habits deplorable, which is to say she shifted around the bed during the course of the night, or rather, day. The reverse sleeping schedule was still kinda weird for her. According to the second Sakamaki son, ideally, she would lie entirely still for exactly the recommended eight hours, and then wake quietly, dress and prepare to essentially serve him. She didn't know how he'd survived without her, but her appearance in his life apparently meant he was able to foster off his many responsibilities onto the young woman, and devote his time instead to more "practical" endeavors, like figuring out how to create a colorless, odorless gas that would kill everything within a city the size of Tokyo, or something. She spent all night handing him various tubes, cleaning the (toxic) messes he left in the lab, and doing her own assigned chores around the house. Her pride would not allow her to think of herself as his slave, but it was probably a more accurate description than 'assistant.'

Resistant though she may have been, she recognized her life was falling into this pattern. In the few weeks since her arrival, Reiji's gentlemanly facade had fallen away and his attitude to ward her had grown increasingly sadistic and disparaging. Not only were her duties as his research assistant constant and taxing, but she was also expected to maintain household duties that should have been carried out by the mansion's elusive staff members.

She stirred the pancake batter she cradled under one arm while she kept an eye on the sizzling bacon. Ayato was very specific about how crispy he liked his bacon. As was Reiji. Kanato and Ayato were also very specific about how they liked their pancakes. Masumi hadn't gotten the balance between Kanato's sweet tooth and Ayato's desire for fluffy pancakes quite right yet. So she often endured verbal abuse from the brothers, hurled across the table as Reiji looked out the side of his eyes at her, waiting to punish her later. Yui, Ayato's mate, wandered into the kitchen, fixing her tie to cover the bite marks still healing on her throat.

"Good morning, Masumi-san, I'm sorry I'm late. I was going to come down early to help you with the pancakes, but Ayato woke up and decided he was... thirsty," she finished, blushing and looking down. Masumi only smiled at the strange vampirette. The ex-human was so different from what Masumi had imagined a vampirette would be, but she liked her well enough.

"That's alright, I was just finishing the batter. Would you mind pouring the first few for me? I need to cut up the strawberries for Kanato-kun." Yui took the bowl and Masumi moved around her to pull the fruit out of the refrigerator, placing them on the cutting board near Reiji.

Head down, she muttered, "I refilled the pipettes yesterday after I recovered from that dose of _salvia miltiorrhiza_ (red sage) that you tested on me, and you know it. Your continued attempts to find fault with my service and person are pathetic and childish. And if you want to punish me for saying so, be my guest, but you won't find another assistant as adept and knowledgeable about your work as I, and your father won't let you kill me. We're stuck with each other for the time being." She sliced the final strawberry and moved away before Reiji could respond, smirking as she turned her back, noticing the muscle in his jaw twitch slightly.

It surprised her how much she actually enjoyed antagonizing him some days. To be honest, she resented the way he treated her, and others, like they were inferior toys to be manipulated or subjects to be experimented on, but he was incredibly emotional, despite his cold exterior. He had a swift temper and was easily provoked, and she often used this to her advantage, letting off some steam when she could.

Of course she paid for it later. The red sage he had given her the night before had been a punishment for allowing one of the other boys at school to engage in prolonged conversation with her, even if it had been regarding a class project. The herbal solution, which he had forcibly injected her with, caused her blood to refuse to coagulate, and he enjoyed biting her in various spots, watching the blood just run across her skin until she fainted. He must have given her an antidote at some point, as she did eventually recover, and went back to her nightly duties. This became a common occurrence for Masumi, the human guinea pig.

But she also benefited from working under Reiji, and this was why she felt so conflicted. Her love for science had been unmatched prior to her illness. She had gone to the top schools in the country, and had found no other students her equal, spending much of her time in the lab, working on projects then presented to Japan's top scholars. But she had seen Reiji's work, though she had known little about the man behind the test tubes before. Now, working for him, she found the sadistic vampire's thirst for knowledge perhaps rivaled even hers, and she was fascinated (and a bit frightened) by his work in the field. His degrees had clearly been earned, and yet he seemed no older than she. One day, she asked,

"Reiji-san, how old are you? I understand that vampires live lives significantly extended from that of a human's but I was wondering about the adolescent growth-rate..." The dark-haired vampire did not look up from his lab notes, where he was recording the data from their latest experiment, the batch of cells labeled EX26-T81.

"I fail to see how that concerns you, Masumi-san," he responded. The young woman positioned herself in front of him where she could not easily be ignored.

"I think I'm allowed to ask a few questions about the man I've apprenticed myself to. And since you have experimented on me countless times thus far without my explicit permission, not to mention the verbal and psychological abuse you and your brothers subject me to daily, I think the LEAST you can do is answer me truthfully in such a small matter, Reiji-san." Her voice was cold, but her argument suggested personal investment in the matter, which meant Reiji saw another means by which to manipulate her.

After a short pause, Reiji closed his notebook and set it on the countertop. "Very well, I will answer your question. But in exchange, you will answer a few questions I have regarding how you came to be here and your previous illness." Taken aback, Masumi was quiet as she stared at the dark-haired boy, assessing. What did he want from her? Slowly, she nodded.

"Physically I am eighteen or nineteen years old, and clearly a high school third year student. However, due to my pureblood vampiric lineage, I was born during what is known in Europe as the Victorian era. Developmentally and intellectually I matured many many decades ago, thus I have been earned several doctoral degrees in various fields. Physically I will continue to mature until I appear to be in my early 30s, at which point I will cease to visably age. Have I answered all of your questions, Masumi-san?" He finished. Arching one brow, Masumi inclined her head in agreement.

"For now," she replied. Reiji pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"Then it is your turn. I do, of course, have your medical files and information regarding your educational background prior to coming to live here, but what I unfortunately lack are the exact terms of the agreement you made with HIM, and the up bringing provided by your mother after your father's death," Reiji prompted.

Masumi smiled. "Your arrogance leads you to believe that I cannot possibly understand anything about my situation, let alone yours, Reiji-san, but you are sorely mistaken. We have something in common, you and I. I know all about your mother, how she neglected you, and how despite your best efforts to impress her, she always loved your older brother more... Well I don't have an older sibling, but our mothers were cut from the same horrible cloth. After my father's death, my mother couldn't be bothered to raise me, I was simply an inconvenient reminder of her loss of wealth and status, a disappointment because I could not bring her the notariety she so craved." Masumi paused, watching Reiji closely, noticing the slight tensing of his muscles. "Oh dear, I've hit a nerve. Yes, both our mothers were... are, horrible people, Reiji-san, but her neglect allowed me to pursue my own passions and control my own upbringing. Like you, I developed a talent for academics, and I have been able to attend some of the best schools in the country... at least until I fell ill."

Reiji again pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, allowing the light to reflect off the surface and shield his eyes, his arms coming to rest on each other as they crossed his body. His body language told Masumi volumes, and she filed away the information for later... _He's got some serious Mommy issues... Not that I can blame him._ Masumi continued,

"It started off as a summer fever, I assumed it was simply the changing weather and perhaps my self negligence as I spent long hours tucked away reading on the latest scientific advancements or experimenting with what supplies I had at my disposal. But the fever lasted first a full week, then a month, and then it broke, only to reveal far worse symptoms. It seemed the fever had thrown off my body's equilibrium, and it struggled to maintain basic functions, such as proper circulation, oxygenation, circadian rhythms, etc. I developed weakened lungs and extremeties because of these internal issues, which compounded on each other until I became an invalid, a medical enigma no one could cure. No one knew what had caused the fever, or how to restore my body back to its normal functionality... at least until my father's friend visited my hospital room."

Almost despite himself, Masumi noticed Reiji leaning in with great interest, his red eyes roaming her body curiously as she spoke. But as silence reigned in the room for several long, tense moments, Reiji's eyes met hers again.

"I don't recall asking you to stop your story, Masumi-san," Reiji bit out. Masumi shrugged.

"I feel like this isn't quite a fair trade. I've already told you so much, but I know so little about you... I think I'll finish my story another time, when you've had time to open up a bit more." And with a pleased smile, Masumi turned her back to Reiji and left the lab.


	5. Chapter 5

_**A/N: Hi guys, I got a lovely message asking me to continue this story. School happened, my laptop crashed, and I sort of lost interest, so I never completed this part of the series. I can't promise life won't get crazy again, but I don't like leaving things unfinished, especially when there are people who really want to know what happens to these two characters. So I'll do some more brainstorming and hopefully churn out another 5 chapters for you all. Thanks for your continued support.**_

 _ **~Nique**_

Ch. 05: Insoluble Substances

"Reiji didn't like being ignored. That night, Masumi slept only for two hours. Reiji had trashed his lab. Though she had never seen him completely lose it, it looked like he had battled his rising ire at her and took it out on the study. Glass beakers were shattered and their contents were splashed all over the walls. His papers had been scattered, like he'd simply swept his arm across the desk and let the papers land where they fell. It took her several hours to clean it all up. Her back was strained and stiff from sweeping all the glass up from the tile, and bending over to pick each shard out of the carpet. Her arms felt heavy after scrubbing the various substances from off the walls. She just wanted to go to sleep.

But Reiji had other ideas. He stood in the doorway between the lab and his bedroom, arms clasped behind his back, almost as if restraining himself. "You have treated me, your master, with such disrespect I am nearly at a loss for words. Clearly I have been far too lenient with you. Your punishment tonight will be to restart each experiment that was discarded this evening. And I expect each one to be perfect, Miss Masumi." The glint on his glasses disappeared as he leaned in toward her ear and she held her breath, expecting his bite. He whispered, instead. "I have no use for imperfect things," and closed the door behind him.

When she did finally get to bed, Reiji took pleasure in waking her every hour or so, biting her roughly and drinking from her as she tried to sleep. At first she complained, but all it took was a soft rattling of the handcuffs attached to the bed posts for her to quiet down. It was a long night.

At school the next morning, Masumi knew she looked as awful as she felt when the other girls in her English class kept pointing to her and touching their own faces. She assumed that meant she looked frightening. Because she had been placed on the same accelerated learning track as Reiji, she shared most of her classes with him, and usually sat next to him. He felt this was only appropriate. But when she reached her usual seat, she was met by cold purple eyes and a mocking sneer.

"This seat is taken, witch," the girl hissed. Her long nails flicked in the opposite direction from her front-and-center seat. "Go sit in the back, where you belong," Suki Nakamura finished with a fake smile. Too tired to argue with the vampirette, Masumi moved a seat back and closed her eyes for a moment, just until class began.

"And why are you not in your appropriate seat, Miss Masumi?" Reiji's voice penetrated her almost-asleep haze and she groaned internally, preparing to answer. Suki beat her to the punch, however.

"I decided it was only appropriate, given her dismal grades and understanding of the English language, Sakamaki-san," she said sweetly. Reiji's gaze swung to look at the raven-haired girl. Suki continued, "Forgive me if that was presumptuous of me, Sakamaki-san, but I don't think Miss Masumi is well-mannered enough to represent this established classroom by sitting in the front row," she said, her eyes flickering to Massumi's face and back to Reiji's. The Sakamaki prince pushed his glasses up his nose, crossing his arms.

"I see. Her manners are deplorable, and she will be duly punished later." As soon as he finished, their instructor entered the room and they all bowed and took their seats. Masumi could not defend herself, as Reiji would allow no talking during class time. Suki smirked at her from over her shoulder, then turned her head around sharply, smacking Masumi in the face with her long black hair.

Suki had been cruel to Masumi from the moment she arrived, but it was not until this day that Masumi understood why. Now, as she watched the young vampirette angle herself toward the sadistic Prince, the answer was so ridiculously obvious she nearly laughed out loud during the lecture. Suki was jealous. She saw it all so clearly now: the venomous looks, the taunting, the humiliation she heaped on Masumi, how she always tried to get her in trouble with Reiji... Suki had a crush on the Sakamaki brother.

But with that realization came a strange, burning feeling in the pit of her stomach. Suki had been awful to Masumi, she was sure the feeling was just anger. Yet it smoldered on throughout the rest of the day.

Suki had taken to following Reiji and Masumi to their next class, pushing Masumi out of the way as she maneuvered herself closer to Reiji. For his part, his social training was impeccable. He slowed down to match the young woman's pace as she clasped her hands in front of her, elegantly striding down the hallways, her skirt brushing her pale thighs alluringly. Suki was a pureblood vampire, from a well-respected family. She carried herself like she knew she was important, like she had always grown up with people watching her every move and praising her beauty, her grace, her eloquence. And it pissed Masumi off. She wasn't a vampire, or nobility, but aside from a hugely-inflated ego, what did Suki have that she didn't?

And why in the hell did she care?

She was fuming silently over this when she became suddenly aware that someone was following very closely behind her. Looking over her should, Masumi came face to face with Laito's amused, fuck-me eyes. He hummed.

"Mmm, is she bothering you, Bitch-chan? Are you jealous? Nfu~" She bristled at the nickname and his implication.

"Why would I be upset that someone is taking your sadistic brother's focus off me for a few hours?" she bit out.

Laito giggled again. "You can say what you want, Bitch-chan, but you can't fool me... You're kinda cute when you're annoyed." He moved in closer, brushing her hair away from her neck, and Masumi realized they had stopped walking, and Reiji and Suki had continued down the hall, out of earshot. Laito leaned in, breathing in deeply. "You smell... delicious, nfu~" Masumi was trying to think of ways to escape when Kimi-chan walked up to Laito and grabbed his arm, pulling him away from Masumi.

"I'm sorry!" she apologized, "I only left him for a second and he disappeared, apparently to harass the other women in the house! Laito!" she tried to admonish him, but he only gripped her waist and pulled her close.

"It's because you didn't satisfy me enough yesterday... Let's fix that now, hmm, Neko-chan?" Masumi grimaced and left the mates to work out their sexual tension on their own.

Why today? Masumi watched Suki assist Reiji perfectly in their chemistry class, handing him exactly what he needed just as he was about to ask for it. She was proper, helpful, even genuinely interested in the chain reactions Reiji was going on about. But why now? Masumi had been by Reiji's side for weeks now, yet today Suki made her move? In the background, the chemistry teacher, having nothing to teach these accelerated pupils, turned the TV to the news channel, listening to the commentator discuss the new bill Tougo Sakamaki had just passed. The young man in his expensive three-piece suit smiled into the camera, almost as if he could see through the screen and stare right at Masumi. She shivered.

In front of her, she saw Reiji's shoulders tense ever so slightly, not enough for Suki or anyone else to notice. While she was distracted, she accidentally poured too much alkali metal sodium into her caesium solution, causing it to bubble over the top of the beaker. Though she rushed to clean up the mess and correct her mistake, she had caught Reiji's attention and he took great delight in belittling her in front of their classmates. Over his shoulder, Masumi saw Suki glance up at the TV screen and smile almost imperceptibly as she looked down again at their solution.

Masumi's gut told her Suki was hiding something behind that fake smile of hers. And no, it wasn't just because she had attached herself to Reiji like a leech, because why would she care about that?

During their next class, Masumi asked to be allowed to do independent study in the library, since she had already finished the lesson plan for that day. Permission granted, Masumi excused herself and availed herself of the library's computer lab.

Masumi knew that Reiji would punish her harshly if he found her snooping about online rather than studying, but for goodness sake, she studied all evening and then worked with him for the rest of the night. She needed a break some time. For the next 50 minutes, Masumi searched the deep corners of the internet looking for the connection between the Nakamuras and Reiji's father, but found none. She left the computer lab with questions still weighing on her mind. Distracted, she only noticed she'd been spaced out when she walked into the women's restroom and found Suki and her lackeys reapplying their makeup. At her entrance, Suki sneered, and her friends gather around behind her, waiting to support whatever torture Suki had planned for the transfer student.

"Ah, I thought the room had begun to stink. Do you know what I do when stink bugs wander into my territory, witch?" Suki hummed, her voice taunting and lilting. Masumi rolled her eyes and prepared to turn away from the catty vampirettes, but Suki reached out, quick as lightening, and grabbed a handful of her hair, yanking her backwards. "I drown them," she hissed into Masumi's ear, dragging her toward an empty stall and shoving her face first into the toilet. Masumi tried to stifle her body's urge to breathe in as Suki applied steady pressure to the back of her head, keeping her face fully submerged. Masumi was too weak to lift her head against the girl's will, not possessing superhuman strength, and the other two lackeys had come around to restrain her arms. Vaguely she recognized the dull ache in her throat as a cry for air, but her brain was whirring too fast for her to pay it much attention. Focusing on the pain would only mean suffering unto death. No, her limited time would be better spent trying to figure out how to escape.

Left only with her legs, which had mercifully been left to half-support her as Suki dunked her head in the water, Masumi allowed herself to actually fall further into the toilet, lifting one leg off the ground and throwing herself momentarily off balance, only to swing it backward as hard as she could, catching one of the girls in the knees and creating chaos in the cramped stall. Whoever she'd kicked fell into the girl beside her, who banged against the wall, and rebounded into the girl next to her. The pressure on the back of Masumi's head lessened, and she took the opportunity to throw her head backwards and out of the water. Gasping for air, her vision obscured by the torrent of water cascading from her hair and into her eyes, Masumi reached out blindly for the stall door, and succeeded in swinging it shut as the other girls tumbled out of the stall. But locking herself in wouldn't solve her problems, Masumi knew, so quickly she dropped onto her belly and crawled under the siding into the next stall, and then the next, until she could scramble out from under the stall closest to the exit, and make a quick get away. Behind her, she could hear the outraged screams of Suki and her crew as they tried to sort themselves out. But Masumi was not in luck. Just outside the restroom door, Reiji stood waiting. Taking in her soaked uniform, dripping hair, scuffed knees and torn stockings (from crawling so quickly across the floor), he reached up to adjust his glasses, and Masumi's stomach dropped.

"Time and time again you bring disgrace upon the Sakamaki household, Miss Masumi. Your appearance is intolerable, and you will be punished severely when we return to the mansion. The car will pick you up in front of the school, so leave immediately. I can hardly bear to look at you." He turned away from her, moving down the hallway toward the second years' wing, likely to collect his brothers. Apparently their school day would be cut a bit short.

As she moved through the foyer, heading for the main entrance, she passed Suki Nakamura's younger sister, Yuzu, who was relaying in a superior tone how her father's business had just made a big deal with the government, and would soon be one of the most powerful corporations in the country. Masumi kept walking, but she had largely forgotten her own predicament. In her head, she flashed back to the news story playing in her chemistry class, the one involving Tougo Sakamaki's new bill. She remembered Suki's smirk.

 _I see..._


	6. Chapter 6

_**A/N: Hey guys, so I'm working up to a turning point in their relationship, but I also just started grad school, so please bear with me as I adjust to my new schedule and course load. That said, I should actually have more time now to write than in undergrad, lol. Anyway, enjoy! *laughs evilly***_

 _ **~Nique**_

Ch. 06: The Experiment

Tougo Sakamaki's bill was totally reflective of his personality-outwardly benevolent and edifying, but hiding serious potential for his personal gain. _And, apparently, for Nakamura Corp's gain_ , Masumi thought as she rinsed the last of the shampoo out of her hair, letting the hot water just hit her back for a moment. Reiji had not said a word to her on the way back from school, and only ordered her to remove her clothes and bathe when they reached the mansion. She leaned back and let the water just hit her face, let it rush through her clean hair and down her body. She really didn't want to get out of the shower, to face Reiji and his wrath, but if she was going to expose Suki's plot, she would need more information. Information that only Reiji would have.

Sighing, Masumi shut off the water and stepped out of the shower, reaching for her towel blindly. It was closer than she expected. Reiji stood just outside the shower, holding her towel out with his gloved hand, his other hand moving to push his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"Reiji-san! Wha-" she began, wrapped her arms around herself, attempting to cover the most embarrassing bits.

"Despite your impropriety in bathing naked in an unlocked room, I have given you the privilege of a towel with which to cover up. Avail yourself of it," he said, his voice low and threatening, the towel in his hand shaking slightly. Masumi snatched it out of his hand and scowled at him.

"You told me to bathe! How is it my fault that you're a pervert who walks into obviously occupied bathrooms without-" Reiji's bare hand was suddenly wrapped around her throat, and the impact of his acceleration into her body sent her head backwards, banging it against the shower door.

"You have lost the privilege to speak in my presence," he hissed, his face mere inches away from hers. His fingers tightened and Masumi had the passing thought that he was probably trying to leave a hand-shaped bruise on her pale skin. _But I'm not... in pain..._ she thought errantly. Reiji's eyes narrowed, like he knew her focus was not entirely on him.

"You have embarrassed me and this household in such an unspeakable way, that I shall have to be very creative in my punishment." The way he said 'creative' was the way any normal person would say 'cruel,' and Masumi knew that was no coincidence.

"Did... it...for...you... Suki... using you," she managed to choke out from around the vice grip Reiji had. She met and held his gaze, waiting for him to decide how to take that information. There was a long, tense moment where Masumi searched for any hint of curiosity in his glowing red eyes. Only curiosity would save her; Reiji cared very little whether the lack of oxygen would leave her brain damaged, though he couldn't kill her. The edges of her vision started to get fuzzy ( _All oxygen and energy being diverted to brain_ , she thought), but she narrowed her focus on Reiji's face, refusing to cower before the heat of his gaze. Abruptly, Reiji's lids lowered, either in suspicion or acquiescence, it didn't matter which, and he released Masumi's throat. She collapsed to the floor, her legs too weak to support her as her body diverted all of its energy to helping her suck air back into her lungs. She sat there, gasping, partially covered by the towel, while Reiji stood above her, his arms crossed.

"Explain yourself."

Masumi looked up at the dark-haired prince and swallowed, then licked her lips before speaking:

"I noticed some unusual behavior in Suki Nakamura today, so I decided further observation might reveal something of use to you. She is obviously aligning herself with you, and I believed this relationship might... benefit you," Masumi half-lied. "But as I watched, it soon became clear to me that her intentions were manipulative and I sought her out in order to extract her plot from her own lips," she finished, rubbing at the skin around her throat, which oddly felt warm, but not raw, or tender as it should. She filed that observation away with the recent others, and refocused on the matter at hand.

Reiji turned his back on Masumi and headed for the door. "We shouldn't talk here. Follow me," he said over his shoulder. He led her out of the bathroom and down the hall to his own room, sitting down in the armchair in his study. Beside him, the fire blazed to life on its own. Masumi stood facing him, standing awkwardly in nothing but her towel. Reiji gestured to one of his dress shirts, which was lying out on the bed.

"Put that on. It is highly inappropriate to conduct conversations while immodestly attired." She strode over to the bed, feeling the sleeve of the button-down shirt. Glancing over her shoulder, she tried to rearrange her towel so it wouldn't slip and reveal her while she dressed. Turning her back fully to Reiji, she slid her arms into the sleeves and buttoned the shirt over her breasts, working her way down. The shirt was large on her slim frame, and it just barely came down to her thighs. As she returned back to her spot in front of Reiji, Masumi blushed, thinking about how she must look: still damp, dressed in a man's white dress shirt, which only covered the necessities, standing before the very wealthy, powerful, dangerous man to whom it belonged. Surprisingly, the implications bore down on her in a way his previous punishments and threats had not. She felt small, weak... owned.

"Now, what evidence do you have to substantiate this conjecture," Reiji asked in a tone that said he was still on the borderline between anger and curiosity. "Miss Nakamura has done nothing untoward or even spoken to me about any sensitive matters," he continued.

"Suki-san has never been as bold in her attention to you as she was today, Reiji-san. She even physically asserted her place at your side, and worked hard to provide for you everything you needed during today's chemistry lesson. In order to produce the tool before you requested it, she would necessarily have to have monitored your movements and process in the past, in order to predict how you would behave and react today. This suggests she has been observing you closely," Masumi began. Reiji folded his hands in front of his face, crossing his legs.

"Observing me and seeking to please me is not a crime, Masumi-san. It is only natural that the lesser vampires seek to appease their superiors. I am her prince, and she has shown me the proper deference that you refuse to also adopt. As my apprentice, it should have been you who waited on me during our chemistry lesson. The fact that your failure to do so left Miss Nakamura with no choice but to step up reflects poorly only on you," he sniffed. Masumi resisted the urge to roll her eyes. _Honestly, narcissism has got to be a family gene around here..._

"There have been other days when I was paired with another chemistry student, so why would she step in only now? And then to follow you around all day, complementing you and attempting to get you to discard your formality and speak with her as an equal? That does not strike me as the behavior of a humble inferior, Reiji-sama," Masumi countered, careful to use the more respectful honorific this time. Reiji inclined his head slightly.

"I assume you have a hypothesis as to why Miss Nakamura has behaved such, and that you are not merely wasting my time," he said, his tone warning.

"I believe Suki-san is working to become close to you, maybe even as a potential mate, in order to increase her own family's power. I noticed during chemistry lab that the news station our teacher was watching reported a story about Tougo Sakamaki's newest piece of legislation. As you know, you father-" Reiji's eyes began to glow again and Masumi corrected herself. "Ah, Sakamaki-sama's bill would allow for businesses to make large, private deals with previously government-run corporations. I believe that Suki-san's father owns a business in position to do just that, and therefore increase their wealth and status. However, provisions in the bill require Sakamaki-sama's specific approval of a business before it can align itself with government forces. If you and she were to become close, I theorize that Suki-san believes her father's company will be allowed to forego the long application process, approved by Sakamaki-sama immediately, and rise sharply in status," Masumi finished. She clasped her hands in front of her, silently waiting for Reiji's response.

"I believe I told you I require absolute perfection in all things, Masumi-san," Reiji murmured. "Before you brought this half-finished hypothesis to me, you should have completed several experiments and produced actual results. Now you have forced me to complete this project for you, and for that you will be punished," Reiji said as he stood. Masumi's mouth gaped open.

"But I tried to experiment! That's what happened in the restroom, and why I emerged looking as indecent as I did, so-" she trailed off as Reiji smiled. It was a terrifying thing, his smile. Masumi felt her heartbeat double in pace.

"Did you really believe you had escaped your punishment? That I would accept your theory as proof of lack of wrongdoing?" His hand shot out and gripped Masumi by the wrist, dragging her over to the foot of his bed and fastening one of the handcuffs. Masumi's eyes widened and she instinctively tried to yank her arm away, but she was obviously trapped.

"No. I warned you that if you disobeyed me you would be whipped, and I am a man of my word." Reiji's voice was low. He forced her other wrist into the other cuff, and moved them along the end of the bed frame so she was bent low, her head facing the bed and her backside exposed to Reiji. The cuffs were so tight that they wrenched her shoulders forward, keeping her in that position, and preventing her from turning around at all. Behind her, she heard a cabinet door open, and then the sound of Reiji's glove sliding off. The cabinet shut and Reiji's footsteps stopped behind her.

"I have been waiting to use this on you since the day you arrived. The stripes it leaves will look lovely on your pale skin," Reiji said, his hand stroking what sounded like leather, and Masumi pictured him fondling a tasseled whip. His hand brushed her back, and she could feel the coolness of his skin through the thin shirt. "You should feel honored. To be punished by a prince, with a whip of the finest quality..." He trailed off and the room was suddenly silent. Unable to turn around or look behind her, Masumi's fear ratcheted up another notch. Then, shattering the silence, the crack of the whip on her skin sang through the air.

Masumi's back bowed instinctively, recoiling from the sting of the whip. Except... there was no sting. The leather tassels rubbed softly against the side of her thigh, and then briefly disappeared as the next strike drew angry red lines across her smooth skin. The same treatment to her other thigh, and then her back again, and again. Each hit tore through the white dress shirt, till it hung in tatters across her body. She could feel each strike, like a warm and unpleasant scratch, but the pain Reiji meant to inflict was strangely absent. And this scared Masumi more than any punishment.

 _Why can I not... feel pain?_ She had become accustomed to pain. It reminded her she was still alive on those nights when she'd laid in the hospital bed, drowning in self-pity and despair. She was grateful to have been healed, but to be robbed of her ability to feel hurt... it didn't feel right.

Behind her, Masumi suddenly became aware of Reiji's heavy breathing. The blows had ceased, and he simply stood behind her, admiring his handiwork. His hand reached out and Masumi instinctively tried to jerk away from his touch, but she couldn't move very far. His hand gripped her hip and his nails dug into the flesh of her thigh. He opened his mouth with a hissing noise, and pressed his own body along the length of her back, his lips brushing the back of her neck as he whispered,

"The red marks crossing your back, the scratches on your thighs... They are beautiful." He pressed an open-mouthed kiss to the juncture between her neck and her shoulder and Masumi began to sob. How many times had he taken her blood? Tortured her? Experimented on her? _Why, after all of that, do I feel fear only now?_ she wondered, feeling vulnerable and weak.

Reiji's fangs pierced her skin and he drank deeply, marking her neck and shoulders again and again with his stamp. Each time, Masumi cried out, feeling each bite like a pair of knife blades sliding into her skin. His bite was the only thing that could bring her pain. And the worst part of the whole punishment was... she liked it.


	7. Chapter 7

_**A/N: Hi guys, a number of you have been anxious for the next chapter in this series, so here it is. I'm not entirely sure where I'm taking the next chapter though, and I'm going to be away next weekend, so it might be a couple of weeks before you get another update. Please be patient, I promise I will finish this series. Thanks, and enjoy!**_

 _ **~Nique**_

Ch. 07: Results and Rewards

Masumi woke in Reiji's bed, the remains of his tattered dress shirt still hanging off her. Sitting up, she glanced around the room and immediately blushed as she spotted Reiji in front of his closet, back to her, sliding into his school uniform. She turned her head quickly.

"I suppose an ill-mannered woman like you wouldn't express gratitude that I allowed you to sleep in my own bed after your punishment. But I do at least expect the common courtesy of a proper greeting," Reiji said without turning around. Masumi pursed her lips but replied,

"Good morning, Reiji-san." Reiji turned to face her, his necktie hanging loosely and his glasses missing. Masumi felt a strange jolt in her chest as she took in his appearance, and she turned her head away from his gaze, blushing harder than before. _What's wrong with me?_ she thought. _He's done nothing but abuse me. I can't possibly... find him attractive...Can I?_ Reiji tightened his tie and buttoned his school vest.

"Clearly your body has recovered some of its... stamina from last night, so I expect you to be on your best behavior today. I will not tolerate laziness or disrespect toward me or this household. Am I clear?" He asked while sliding both arms into his jacket. Masumi nodded, still turned away, still largely consumed by thoughts of her odd reaction to Reiji's presence. There was a moment of silence in the room as neither spoke, but Masumi heard the telltale sound of his white glove sliding onto his skin and she shivered involuntarily.

In the next moment, that gloved hand had her by the chin, and was forcing her head around to look Reiji in the eyes. He was bent over slightly, but he still stood well above where she still sat on the bed. The implication of their obvious power difference was clear, and he knew she was smart enough to understand its meaning without him having to explain it to her. She swallowed harder than she meant to,

"When I address you, Masumi-san," Reiji said, his voice low and soft, "I expect a prompt, verbal reply. Do you understand?" he asked, giving Masumi what she knew to be a very rare second chance.

"Yes, Reiji-san, I understand," she said softly, trying to avert her eyes, though she could not move her head. Reiji held her there for a moment longer, as if to let his lesson hang in the air, then released her swiftly. He looked her up and down with a contemptuous look and gestured to his desk chair, where a fresh uniform waited for her. He didn't have to say anything.

Masumi rose quickly and took the clothes off the chair, hesitating only momentarily before unbuttoning what was left of the dress shirt she'd slept in and letting it slide down her body, falling in a heap and her feet. She chanced just one look over her shoulder as she turned her back to the vampire prince, but she saw his eyes, glowing, fixed on the red marks which criss-crossed her back and thighs. He had paused, one end of his glasses clenched between his sharp teeth, halfway to his face. Masumi turned back around and dressed as quickly as she could. As she tied her second shoelace, Reiji shut his lab notebook (which he had been studying while she prepared) and opened his bedroom door, leaving first and telling her to find a seat in the car in exactly ten minutes.

Halfway down the hallway, Laito and Kimi stumbled out of their room; Kimi was trying to fight Laito off long enough to finish buttoning her clothes, and Laito was... well, being Laito. Intending to move around the couple, Masumi tried to squeeze by them along the banister, but in doing so, her skirt got trapped on a little splinter in one of the bars and she had to stop to work herself free. While she was in the process of this, a voice behind her remarked,

"~Nfu, are those marks on your thighs from Reiji's whips? What a naughty Bitch-chan you must have been... Still, that shade of red, the way they cross over each other like spiderwebs... ahh, it's so sexy I can't help myself, ~nfu." Masumi's eyes widened as cold hands encircled her waist and spun her around hard enough for her to stumbble backwards until she hit the opposite wall. It, of course, didn't hurt, but the surprise kept Masumi immobile long enough for Laito to cage her in with his body.

Laito licked his lips and glanced down at the side of her thighs, reaching down to finger the hem of her skirt. His green eyes sparkled as he said,

"Bitch-chan, did you know? A woman's thighs are the best place to drink from... So soft, so sensitive... And my bite looks so good there, marking you... ~nfu" Laito's hand slipped under her skirt and his cold fingers stroked up and down the outside of her thigh. He leaned in close. "Would you like me to show you?"

Masumi didn't know what was happening to her body. A sudden rush of fear, of anger, ran through her blood and she screwed her eyes shut. _No, I don't want this. I don't want his hands touching me. I don't want his bite; I only want-_ That thought stopped her dead, and her eyes popped open. _Was I going to say... Reiji's bite?_

Laito's fangs were nearly on her skin. He was now kneeling, with Masumi's leg lifted in his arms. An annoyed "Oh, really!" saved Masumi from the triplet's perverted thirst.

"Laito-kun! Leave the poor girl alone. I'm your mate, for heaven's sake, show a little self-control!" Kimi came stomping up to Masumi and Laito and grabbed the vampire prince by the arm (the one holding up Masumi's leg), tugging him up and away. She'd managed to button her clothing and had obviously run back inside their room to run a brush through her previously "just-fucked" looking hair.

Laito whined. "But Neko-chan, look, she's got those lash marks I love so much all over her thighs! You haven't had any lash marks in a while," he pouted. Kimi blushed but didn't stop scolding her wandering mate. "Whose fault is that? I've got nothing against a few lash marks every once in a while, but it's not like I can exactly mark them on myself," she shot back. That was a mistake. Laito's eyes began to glow and he pulled his fedora lower, wrapping one arm around his mate's waist and pulling her in close to his body.

"I can fix that, Neko-chan," he replied, his voice lower than Masumi had ever heard it. "I'll love you from head to toe." The couple apparated out of existence before Kimi (or Masumi) could say anything back. Masumi glanced to one side of herself and then the other, still sort of wondering if all of that had actually happened. But then the clock in the dining room struck the quarter of the hour and Masumi snapped out of it, rushing down the staircase and outside into the waiting limo, just before her ten minutes were up. _Looks like I'm going without breakfast again today._

Reiji was already in a bad mood by the time they got to school. Laito and Kimi were ditching again, and Shu had irritated him further by falling asleep on the way, and refusing to go to his assigned classroom when they arrived, heading instead for the music room he commanded, dragging his popstar mate along with him. Masumi said nothing, stayed by Reiji's side as she was expected to, and simply waited to see how the day would play out with Suki.

She didn't have to wait long. Suki was sitting in the desk next to Reiji's again when the two walked into their English class. She lifted her lip in a sneer at Masumi when she thought Reiji's head was turned, and then reshaped her face into a bright smile as she greeted him:

"Good morning, Reiji-sama. I've taken the liberty of assigning myself to be your partner for today, since you haven't been getting reliable help from anyone else... I hope that's alright," she simpered, her voice dripping with false sweetness. Masumi rolled her eyes and took a seat behind the two vampires. But Reiji remained standing, his eyes hidden in the glare on his glasses.

"Do not believe you may make yourself familiar to me without my permission, Nakamura-san," he said, his fangs just peeking out from his pursed lips. He glanced down at Masumi in her newly acquired seat. "I believe your instructions were to stay by my side and assist me when I require it. Is that correct, Masumi-san?" he rebuked. Masumi knew it wasn't really aimed at her, so she hid her smile and inclined her head slightly. With a confused look on her face, Suki rose from the chair next to Reiji's, and Masumi assumed the vacated seat.

"As you wish, Reiji-san," Masumi said politely, resisting the urge to look over her shoulder at Suki for the rest of the period.

The day continued to play out in Masumi's favor, as Reiji chipped away at Suki's helpful, humble facade, one comment at a time. She handed him the wrong solution in their chemistry lab, "a mistake," Reiji sniffed, "no true scientist would make in such a simple experiment. Masumi-san, counteract the interaction." When she sat down again, Suki's face was the deepest shade of red Masumi had ever seen. She looked like a tomato about to burst under immense pressure. Then Reiji delivered the final blow.

It was just before their last class of the day, Political Science (a necessity for the wealthy, elite students who dominated the school) and one of the class officers had come up to Reiji to ask his opinion on the debate topic for the day: government involvement in big business. Pushing up his glasses, Reiji sighed as if tolerating childish questions from his classmates out of sheer benevolence.

"As you should know, a bill was recently passed (Masumi didn't miss the passive construction Reiji used, rather than naming his father, who authored the bill) which allows businesses above a certain taxation bracket to merge part of their assets with government holdings, effectively becoming state-endorsed companies and multiplying their power in the economic market exponentially. The problem with this bill," Reiji's eyes focused on Suki, "is that suddenly businesses who have no businesses competing on that level have been thrust into the limelight. As they will inevitably fail, from lack of experience and aptitude for the complex political renderings of state-endorsement, gaps in our economic market will open. Those businesses which have no business in the circuit of the elite will create problems only for themselves and the lower classes their products target and serve." There was a heavy silence in the room as all of the students looked back and forth from Reiji, the vampire prince and renowned genius, and Suki, the school beauty and up-and-coming socialite.

Reiji sealed the deal: "And certainly businesses who cannot hope to engage the government's interest in any way other than whoring out their daughters to important political figures will fall the furthest." Suki's fangs lengthened and her sharp hiss broke the tension.

"How _DARE_ you? First you insult my father's company, which has worked exceptionally hard to get where it is, and has taken advantage of every step up the ladder it could manage, and then... and then you insinuate I have been attempting to seduce you for the sake of my father's business?!" Suki's chest heaved and her face was that deep shade of red again.

"Yes, I am attempting to verify the truth of this matter," Reiji said, his voice low as he readjusted his glasses (again). "My assistant brought my attention to you uncharacteristic behavior and made the connection to our current political happenings, but I find myself needing to confirm her hypothesis...If I understand you correctly, you intended to push your love upon me, whether I wanted it or not. And you thought that in doing so, you and your father would gain access to the upper echelons of our society, where you long to be."

Suki's silence spoke volumes. Reiji chuckled, surprising both Suki and Masumi, who had never heard him produce such a sound before. "I think I'll pass. I am simply not attracted to corrupt women with loose morals," he said darkly.

Dumbfounded, Suki said nothing, recoiling as if she'd been slapped. The school bell to signal the end of the period rang, and Reiji rose, nodding once at the instructor (who had apparently been wise enough to let the prince deal with this issue in lieu of proceeding with the scheduled lesson plan). "Masumi-san, I have need of you in my study this afternoon. Go straight there when we reach the mansion," he commanded her. With that, he strode out of the classroom, leaving Masumi to gather her things and presumably meet him at the car when she had finished gathering supplies for her homework. Suki's eyes held the promise of retaliation against Masumi, who had revealed her, so she hurried out after Reiji.

As requested, Masumi made a beeline for Reiji's lab, waiting for further instructions. But to her surprise, Reiji appeared not through the hallway-entrance, but through the secret entrance, which fed into his bedroom, already half undressed. He had shed his outer coat (which he rarely did in her presence) and loosened his tie, rolling up his sleeves and untucking his shirt, even. The full effect gave him a sort of bad-boy-genius vibe which Masumi found herself very attracted to. She swallowed thickly as he approached her.

"R-Reiji-san, I'm surprised to see you like this. I thought you required perfection in everything? Is this state of dress appropriate for-" he cut her off by gripping her hair and yanking her backwards off balance. His other hand captured the hand she threw up instinctively as she fell, as if to catch herself on something. Suspended in a half-dip, Masumi's wide eyes met Reiji's, and she suddenly realized he wasn't wearing his glasses, and that his eyes were... _Such a striking shade of red..._

"What a bothersome woman you are," he said softly, his fingers tangled in her hair, his grasp of her wrist the only thing really keeping her aloft. "I wish you would stop making work for me. Unlike other people, I don't have time to enjoy myself... Still, I'm in the mood for a sip of your blood." Reiji's smile exposed his fangs and Masumi became painfully aware of how this position exposed the smooth column of her throat, punctuated only by the bruises Reiji had left there previously. "This is a reward for your decent work today," he whispered.

"N-no, Reiji-san, please, I don't-" she tried to struggle, to persuade him otherwise, to do something, really, she did. It was just that her body didn't want to listen to her. In fact she felt her heart speed up as Reiji's face drew closer to hers, then lower, until she could feel his warm breath against her skin.

Masumi cried out as Reiji's fangs pierced her flesh once more. _This feeling... I should hate it. I should struggle, run away, maybe... But I-I don't want to_. Masumi's eyes filled with tears. Yes, each pull of blood from the wound caused her pain, but for that she was almost grateful. But the realization that she was falling for this moody, sadistic, arrogant vampire...That was nearly unbearable.

Reiji's hand loosened in her hair and slid down until his arm was wrapped around her waist. He pushed her backwards until her back hit the edge of the lab table, cradling her now, the hand that had grasped her wrist so tightly letting it go, too, in favor of resting on her upper thigh, just under the hem of her skirt. _Over the bruises and scrapes he left on my skin_ , Masumi gasped as his cold skin pressed against the warmth of hers.

Reiji made a deep, throaty sound, which hummed against Masumi's skin where his lips were sealed over his bite.

"Ahhh... such fine quality, not to be wasted on lesser vampires..." he whispered, lifting his face above hers, briefly, his fangs coated in her blood and a faint tint in his cheeks. With a start, Masumi realized that sound had been a... moan. Reiji had tasted her blood and... moaned. A deep blush spread from her cheeks down to her chest.

Reiji smiled again and continued, "There is just no help for it. I shall treat you to strict training, so you will become deserving of my attention."

 _No...No, this isn't what I want, I can't want... him. This. I don't-_ A strange, higher-pitched moan filled the space between them, and it took a moment for Masumi to realize it had come from her.

 _Fuck. It can't... It shouldn't feel this good, but..._ Trying to put some distance between them so she could think, Masumi reached behind her to push against the countertop. Maybe if she had enough leverage, she could make enough space between the table and Reiji's body to escape somehow. But when she leaned back onto her hands, she put her full weight down on several test tubes that had been lying out. They shattered. Yet between her own interior dialogue, and Reiji's attention, Masumi didn't notice the cracking of glass, and she certainly couldn't see the shards slicing into her palms.

But Reiji did. Lifting his head, he pulled Masumi upright suddenly, leaving her a bit dizzy and lightheaded (both from blood loss and sudden movement). With one hand he gripped her wrist and brought it around to face him, palm up. It was the first moment Masumi realized she'd been injured, and she stared at the glass shards protruding from her skin, watching the blood, her blood, drip down onto the carpet.

"You didn't feel the glass break?" Reiji asked, breaking Masumi out of her own thoughts. She started to shake her head, then remembered Reiji's earlier warning about verbal answers, so she cleared her throat delicately.

"No, Reiji-san," she replied softly. He was silent for a long moment, his eyes narrowed on her face. Then he dropped her wrist and turned, heading back into his bedroom and through it into his private bathroom.

"Follow me," he commanded. There really wasn't much choice, so Masumi did as she was told. After flipping on the lights, Reiji lifted her by the waist easily and sat her on the bathroom countertop, brandishing a pair of tweezers. He pulled a spare pair of glasses out of a drawer and went to work, quietly picking little slivers of glass out of the bloody mess his assistant's hands had become.

"Aside from the fact that your own clumsiness caused this mess, it will cause chaos in my lab if my assistant does not have sensation in her hands. You will inevitably break something, or drop something, or incorrectly conduct an experiment because you cannot judge properly with your natural senses, and I cannot have you ruin years of work. When did this start?" Reiji finally asked.

Masumi shook her head, "I can feel things... Like heat or weight, but I haven't been able to... to feel pain for a while now. It's been getting worse and worse since yesterday, though. The rate at which I'm losing that sensation has... accelerated," she said quietly. "I'm not sure exactly when it started, but it was definitely after I came to live here. Before this, all I knew was pain."

Reiji plucked the last piece of glass from her hand and told her to run them under water to clean them off. Then he disinfected them and bandaged them carefully.

"A proper young lady should not have ugly, scarred hands. Remember that I have no use for imperfect things," Reiji said finally, looking into Masumi's eyes. She nodded. "I would suggest you heal quickly," Reiji finished, turning and leaving her there. Masumi watched his back as he retreated into his lab and shut the door.

Softly, she whispered, "The only pain left for me comes from your bites... and this aching heart."

 _ **A/N #2: So someone pointed out that the last chapter sort of tied Masumi's lack of pain to her increasing affection for Reiji, which wasn't my intention. I hope this chapter has cleared that up some, and I'll continue to reveal more about Masumi's issue as the plot continues. Just know that although she began to realize these two things at around the same time, they aren't contingent on each other.**_


	8. Chapter 8

_**A/N: Sorry, I thought I had posted this chapter like a week ago. I had a lot of trouble bridging the gap between ch. 7 and ch. 9 in terms of plot structure, so it took me a while to figure out what I wanted to reveal and how I was going to start pulling all the loose ends back together. Hopefully I can get back on track with the next chapter. And thanks for being so patient; grad school is both exhausting and time-consuming!**_

 _ **~Nique**_

Ch. 08: A New Hypothesis

After the incident in the lab, Masumi caught Reiji staring at her more and more. He always had a strange expression on his face, the same one he wore when trying to determine what his experiment would reveal. It deeply unsettled Masumi. Her chest ached when he turned away, and she couldn't understand her own attraction to him. The way she always wanted him to look at her, to pay attention to only her, to correct her or engage with her in some way. What did his cryptic look mean?

In the meantime, Reiji continued to have Masumi assist him in the lab as he carried out a new experiment. "This one cannot move forward without your assistance, so I expect prompt and proper attendance to this matter whenever you are not in class or studying. It will consume every leisure moment I have allowed you so far, so prepare yourself," he told Masumi, who had to resist the urge to roll her eyes. _Leisure moments? Since when do I have those?_

Feeling so emotionally off-balance, Masumi had returned to her former behavior. The snark and obvious defiance she showed Reiji was less than she'd displayed before the incident with Suki, but effective enough to irritate the young head-of-household. But uncharacteristically, he'd let her disrespect slide on several occasions. When he appeared outside the door to her room while she dressed one morning, he merely paused as she kicked the door shut in his face, before he calmly knocked and then opened it again. And the next day, when she cut him off in the middle of a lecture with a sarcastic comment, he merely pushed his glasses up his nose, said "Indeed," and strode out of the room. It was... beyond strange.

 **xxxxxxxxx**

Masumi was severely trying his patience. Reiji regretted the incident with her in the lab, as it left her unable to complete the delicate experiments for that week, but at the same time, she had afforded him a new project to explore, which he was taking on with extreme interest.

 _He is not an idiot. He did this to her so she would prove herself to me, prove herself worthy of becoming my bride, I'm certain of it_ , Reiji thought to himself as he lectured her about misarranging the dinner settings. When she interrupted him to fire back a snarky retort, he forgot himself for a moment, and said the thing in his mind aloud: "Indeed." Slightly taken aback at this development, he left her without finishing his oration, and went to find a quieter place to think (Ayato was shouting out Yui's name throughout the house as he sought her for an after-dinner snack, and the noise was intolerable to the older brother).

Once in his study, Reiji sat in his large armchair, deep in thought. _It is difficult to imagine such an unruly and bothersome woman as MY mate, but if His pattern holds, that is what she is undoubtedly meant to be... He sent her to me with specific instructions. But I cannot fathom this course of action. What does it behoove Him to recommend her to me already broken? He is too far above insults for this to merely be one... Strange, indeed._

 **xxxxxxxxx**

Masumi didn't understand what Reiji was working on with his most recent experiments, which was odd, considering she assisted him in every facet and should be able to gather, by matter of observation and connection, what hypothesis he had. Yet this new project was so different from all of the ones he'd begun since Masumi had arrived. Not really chemistry, their current course of study involved... human biology. _Why would Reiji be interested in something like how a human's brain responds to specific stimuli?_

She didn't get it, but she was fascinated nonetheless, and despite her complicated feelings about her lab "partner," she found herself looking forward to learning from his exploration. They began by collecting data concerning what scientists and doctors knew so far about sensory receptors in the brain, and how they could be altered by external forces. Sometimes something ingested caused the neuropathways to malfunction, and fail to send signals to the brain. Sometimes it was a traumatic injury, like a severing of the spinal cord and subsequent total or partial paralysis. In that case, though, there were many other contributing factors (it wasn't just the patient's senses which were altered or damaged, but also a skeletomuscular inability to move those remaining, unresponsive parts of their bodies), so Reiji ruled that out as largely unhelpful. They finally settled on the latest news, concerning certain rare diseases which might have the effect of "turning off" a person's senses because of prolonged exposure to that stimuli. But the research had not yet been done on how that occurred physiologically and/or psychologically. So they were stuck. And without any test subjects she knew of, they couldn't move forward any further.

"Ne, Reiji-san, do you have a bunch of human hostages you're hiding in the dungeon? Are you going to use them like lab rats? 'Cause otherwise I don't think we-" Masumi began, her tone teasingly mutinous.

"What I have asked you to do does not require you to think, Miss Masumi, merely to obey," Reiji answered, never looking up from the article he was reading. She pouted ( _It isn't any fun when he doesn't respond_ , she thought) and went back to cataloguing the articles they'd pulled off the internet... mostly from private and high-ranking government sites, too. This way, they could find them again should they need to reference anything. Silence reigned in the lab again.

Masumi heard his glasses hit the table a fraction of a second before he stood behind her, looming with an almost suffocating presence. Masumi spun around to face the vampire prince, who was looking down at her intently. Leaning forward, he used his arms to cage her in against the table. His face drew nearer and nearer to hers, and Masumi felt her heart begin to beat a bit faster. She was keenly aware of the sense of deja vu, and wondered if this interaction would again result in her injury. His voice was low when he spoke, but there was something almost hypnotic about how his red eyes held hers, and she only vaguely heard herself respond.

"Masumi-san, you never finished your story, and I insist you do so now. What did He do when he came to visit you in the hospital? What did he say? I need every detail..." he asked.

"W-why? I don't-" she stammered, her breath coming in short gasps. It was like her brain was short circuiting, blocking out everything that wasn't his eyes and his voice and his body, so close to hers. His sharp cheekbones, his lips, the way his black hair fell over his face like a dark curtain...

"Answer me, Masumi," he commanded, his voice deep and somehow thrilling. Masumi noted the lack of an honorific and a shiver ran down her spine. Her name coming from his lips felt so... familiar. Personal. Intimate. Her cheeks flamed with a bright blush. She swallowed.

"He-he just... asked me how I felt. I already knew who he was, so we skipped the pleasantries. He said... he said he had been a friend of my father's, and that he wanted to do something for me as a token of that friendship..." she trailed off as her pupils dilated. Reiji had leaned in even further, and his face was so close to hers she was positive they were just exchanging the air in that small space.

"Go on," he prompted. She licked her lips and spoke again:

"He said I hadn't seen the best scientists in the world, and that medicine was often behind the cutting-edge science. He would 'give me a chance' if I agreed to live here, to work with you... But I also made him promise me my safety. If I was going to live in a house full of vampires, I needed some sort of reassurance..." At this, Reiji smiled.

"Smart girl," he murmured. Masumi's blush spread down her chest and up to the tips of her ears. He made a mental note. _Mmm, so praise does it for her? What a lewd woman_. "Did he give you anything? Touch you?" Reiji asked, his eyes narrowing.

"Uhm... He k-kissed my hand when we first met, and he shook it when we'd made a deal. He left a card in that hand and disappeared. After that I fell back asleep from exhaustion and the next morning I was... cured," she finished. Her eyes moved warily over his face as he absorbed all this information. She didn't like that her body was betraying her so obviously, and she didn't know what Reiji was thinking, what he was going to do to her. She felt like a cornered cat, hackles raised. _Yeah but what kind of cat gets off on being cornered?_ she asked herself sardonically.

Reiji straightened and dropped his arms. "I see." He moved back to where he'd been reading, put his glasses back on, and resumed his study.

"You may go, for now, Miss Masumi," he told her with disinterest. Flustered and more than a little annoyed, Masumi bowed and excused herself from the room, heading toward the bathroom. Time for a nice cold shower.

As she stood under the spray, she wondered (finally), _Why did he want to know about how I met his father? If he'd touched me? Strange..._

 **xxxxxxxxxx**

Reiji closed the journal he'd been reading when he heard the door shut. Taking out a plain notebook from among the many lining his shelves, he made a few notes and then started a new line. In all caps, he wrote,

HYPOTHESIS: HE (Ugh, he couldn't even write that man's name) used skin to skin contact to introduce a regenerative substance into the subject's body, which cured her of her illness but induced loss of sense of pain. No other side effects indicated.

Then, beneath it,

UNKNOWN: Extent of sensory loss, chemical composition of substance introduced, motive.

"The next logical step is to devise an experiment which will divulge the extent to which she can or cannot experience pain," Reiji said aloud, smirking. He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, with a devious grin.

 _This should be... quite enjoyable._

He couldn't have known then that it would ultimately be Suki who solved that mystery for him, or the price he'd have to pay for the information.


	9. Chapter 9

_**A/N: Sorry for the delay, grad school is rough. But also I had a bit of trouble with the climax here. Hope it works okay as it is. Anyway, I've got like half of Ch. 10 written and winter break is coming up, so we'll wrap this story up pretty soon. Thanks for your continued support!**_

Ch. 09: The Catalyst

If Reiji's rules of propriety had been petty and arbitrary before, his new rules were absolutely unreasonable... as in, "lacking logical reason." If she rolled over more than twice during the night, she was punished. If Reiji believed that as a representative of the household, she wasn't showing enough initiative in participating in class discussions, she was punished. If she didn't change the pipettes in their case between 7 and 8pm each night, she was punished. Why the oddly specific time frame? Because "in your constant endeavor to do your _job_ as my assistant, you should anticipate when such housekeeping matters might be accomplished in a schedule that neither hinders my work, nor leaves me lacking the proper tools I might require in my evening experimentation. Between 7 and 8 I have decided to take a nightly reading break, so you may put the lab in order at that time," Reiji explained.

And even when she managed to adhere to all of his rules, Reiji inevitably found some aspect to criticize her for. The whole interaction inexplicably ending with her tied or cuffed to his bed, or bent over his study desk, becoming his preferred test subject for any new... "toys" he acquired. His punishments rarely hurt her, but the humiliation alone was nearly becoming more than Masumi could bear. She could feel her emotions rising up in her like a tidal wave, just about to crash over the shore of her sanity, whimpering and crying as Reiji brought her to that precipice over and over. His whips tore through her clothes, so to avoid having to replace them constantly, he ordered her to strip down to her underclothes before he had his fun with her. And it was clearly fun for him, for nearly every evening ended with Reiji in a surprising state of undress, shirt untucked and sleeves rolled up, glasses off and fangs exposed as he panted for breath. It wasn't particularly the exertion which caused such a need, Masumi could tell, so it likely had to do with that... _thing_ in his pants which brushed against her thighs and the crack of her ass when he leaned forward to drink from her neck after he'd finished with her beating.

Masumi blushed when she thought of those moments. She wouldn't admit, even to herself, that they were her favorite part of the day. His sharp fangs sliding into her throat, the only instruments of sweet torture which could actually elicit a pained response from her body; his hot, heavy breath against her skin in contrast to his cold hands, which gripped and dug into her hips; the way his lips left dark bruises on her pale skin, like he was claiming her for everyone to see... What had begun as a punishment was quickly becoming a source of pleasure for the young girl. She wondered if it was just because it was Reiji, the man-the vampire prince-she both hated and respected (as an academic, anyway), or if it was just her, if she had always been this way, and just never knew it? Either way, Masumi subconsciously recognized her newest fascination with masochism. But how long could this go on? It felt like she and Reiji were reaching some sort of summit in their relationship, their play, and a single action could topple them from their perch, or change everything.

Apparently the answer was four weeks. Sumi hadn't been to school in four weeks, her parents having pulled her out on an indefinite leave of absence until the family could somehow regain some of its honor in the eyes of the unforgiving elite community. But when Masumi followed Reiji into their English class, there she sat in her usual desk, eyes fixed on the door. As soon as Reiji turned his attention to other matters, Suki shot Masumi a smile that made her hairs stand on end. It was a smile she was becoming accustomed to seeing on Reiji's lips, a smile that promised punishment, but on Suki it left her feeling less thrilled and much more concerned.

It was their final class of the day, and Masumi's focus was drawn to the experiment she was assisting Reiji with. As demanding as he was, she had little time to think about the vindictive vampirette fuming on the other side of the room, having been relegated to the nose-bleed section after her fall from grace. Suddenly she left her lab station, striding quickly and purposefully toward the prince. Masumi had been gathering another beaker for the runoff from their experiment, and closing the supply cabinet gently, turned to return to her station. Thus she was just in time to see the glint of steel as Masumi pulled what looked like an antique hunting knife from a pocket inside her uniform jacket. Almost dumbfounded at the sight, Masumi only had time to choke out a "Reiji, behind-!" before Suki's hand was flashing through the air, the knife held facing out in one fist, as if she meant to plunge the blade straight through the boy's ribs and into his heart.

A thought flashed unbidden through Masumi's mind:

 _It's far easier to reach vital organs going through the rib cage rather than from the front, like they do in movies._

And then a second:

 _Even a vampire wouldn't survive a knife to the heart._

Horrified, Masumi felt like her body moving in slow motion as she reached out... _To do what?_ she wondered.

 _To stop her. To catch it. To knock him out of the way..._ _ **Something**_ , she silently answered herself.

But even as she thought this, she was judging the distance between her and the spot where Reiji stood over their burner, checking to make sure their solution was heating evenly. She looked at the distance between Suki and Reiji, as she ran down the center aisle, only one table away from theirs now. Masumi still had to round the corner of the table next to theirs and step across the aisle. She wasn't going to make it in time. She felt a scream lodge itslf in her throat and for the first time since she'd entered the Sakamaki mansion, she wished she had a vampire's speed and reflexes.

 _All of this, and my body is still too weak to do what is needed_ , she thought. But she didn't stop moving, didn't close her eyes to avoid watching the blood spurt, watch the boy she'd come to love fall... _Love?_ That word caused her to stumble and cost her just a fraction of a second. A moment almost too short to count. _Too late._

But there was no cry of pain, no blood staining Reiji's school uniform, no crow of victory from Suki. No, it was Suki who cried out. Between the instant Masumi had closed her eyes to blink and the moment she reopened them, Reiji had turned and grabbed the young vampirette by the wrist, twisting until he heard a snap and the knife clattered to the tile floor. He then lifted Suki by the throat and threw her backwards across the room. She crashed into the supply closet where Masumi had gotten the beaker, the sound of shattering glass deafening in the otherwise silent classroom _._ Everyone's eyes were on the vampire prince, the working head of the Sakamaki household. Waiting on his word. From the doorway, a few first-year girls who remained loyal to Suki screamed. Obviously they had rushed over to see what had become of Suki's scheme.

Reiji merely sniffed.

"I'm disappointed you would stoop to the level of physical retaliation, Nakamura-san. You were humiliated by your superior for dabbling in a world you cannot understand and do not belong in. And now you have merely proven yourself to be of a lower class. To do something as utterly pedestrian as to attempt to kill me... You sicken me. Come, Masumi," Reiji turned back to his "bride" (who stood facing Suki, unlike her classmates, whom Reiji held in rapt attention), one arm reaching across her body to her opposite shoulder to turn her around and usher her out of the classroom. Since he'd already turned his back on the seething vampirette, he did not see her rise, blood dripping down her arms, her legs, her temple. He never saw the second blade she reached for and threw toward him with blinding speed.

But Masumi did. Her heart seemed to stop in that moment, as she realized it would lodge itself squarely in Reiji's neck, and he wouldn't be able to move out of its way. Even if he could respond fast enough to turn around, the blade would only catch him in the front instead of the back. Before her eyes she saw a vision of what was to come-of the sick _schick_ sound of the blade sinking into Reiji's flesh, of a suspended moment before he crumpled, of blood pooling around his head as he lay on the floor at her feet...The thought was so horrible that Masumi couldn't imagine any pain worse than the ache in her chest.

 _Not again. I won't fail to save him this time._

Without another thought, she flung her hand upward and caught the knife before it could touch her vampire prince. Being human, it wasn't a graceful, skilled grip which halted the blade's momentum. No, she simply wasn't fast enough for that. But she understood physics quite well-well enough to know that if the blade had to go through something else first, it would never reach Reiji. And as she'd hoped, she hardly felt the smooth steel sliding through her palm, ripping through skin and ligament and tendon before the tip of it just poked through the skin on the back of her hand, stuck fast in her flesh instead of his.

A gloved hand shot up to grasp her wrist, dragging her closer to Reiji as he turned 90 degrees to face her. She couldn't tear her eyes away from the sight of the knife sticking out from her palm, even to look up at Reiji, to see his reaction, if he would be angry... or pleased. Had she overstepped? _He is a vampire, after all, he probably could have avoided it again_ , she thought now, her brain slowly regaining its logical reasoning skills. _Have I made him look weak in front of his subjects? I mean, a prince being saved by a human? What kind of propriety is there in that?_ But a low hiss brought her attention back to Suki, back to the situation at hand. Suki was laughing.

Masumi could actually feel Reiji's grip on her wrist tighten as his whole body tensed. She'd never seen him show this much emotion in public, and it fascinated her. The perpetually cool, level-headed prince was furious, and this time he was not above letting his displeasure be known. Though human, even Masumi could feel the power pouring off the vampire. A quick glance revealed that every other vampire in the room had stepped back and ducked their heads, nervously licking their lips and searching for an exit like cornered puppies. His anger was an aura, a dark, living thing, focused on the other side of the room where Suki stood her ground... Yet it didn't terrifying Masumi the way it seemed to terrify the other students. She tugged at his grasp gently and used her other arm to hesitantly touch Reiji's cheek. His head snapped in her direction again, and his eyes seemed to glow a brighter shade of red than usual. Masumi let her lips twitch up into a small smile as she attempted to calm him.

"It didn't hurt, really, Reiji-san. It's okay, I-" she stopped mid-sentence, and her smile faded. Her eyes flickered down to the blade again, noticing for the first time an extra, unnatural sheen coating the steel. _Shit_. She had only enough time to glance up into Reiji's eyes once more before her eyes rolled back in her skull and she fell, limp, into his arms.


	10. Chapter 10

_**A/N: And that's all, folks! A huge thank you to all the people who have followed my work from Part 1 all the way here, and those of you who have been so patient as I published new chapters sporadically over the last few years. I'm not really sure if I'm going to continue on with this series, because I've sort of moved on to other things, but I at least wanted to finish what I'd started. Sorry about not updating sooner, but I hope this chapter will wrap up all I wanted to say about Reiji and my OC. I hope you enjoy.**_

 _ **~Nique**_

Ch. 10: What Science Couldn't Explain

Reiji's vision was red around the edges. The bitch across the room was laughing after injuring HIS property, HIS assistant, HIS... _Bride_.

A small, warm hand cupping his cheek brought him back from the brink. He'd never lost control like that before, never let anyone know they'd affected him so much as to warrant a reaction, but this time he didn't think he'd be able to stop himself from killing the cheeky vampirette. The consequences be damned. But Masumi's voice distracted him long enough for his mind to regain some control over his primal, bodily reaction.

"It didn't hurt, really, Reiji-san. It's okay, I-" she broke off. The soft brown eyes that gazed so calmly into his, despite his rage, shifted down to her palm again, to the knife stick stuck there, to the blood still dripping onto the floor between them. Her eyes met his once more, but this time they were wide, frightened... remorseful. She fell, unconscious, into his arms without another word.

Had he not been cradling the human girl in his arms, he would have taken Suki by the throat and slammed her against the opposite wall. He resisted (barely) the urge to lay Masumi gently on the floor and do it anyway. Through his teeth, he hissed instead, "What have you done?"

Suki looked entirely self-satisfied. She gestured to the knife which pierced the girl's hand.

"I'm surprised you didn't notice, Reiji-san," she said mockingly. "That knife inflicted physical damage, yes, but it was what was ON the knife that has given me true revenge." She sneered at Reiji. "You humiliated me. You took away my social standing, my aspirations to something better, my chance to make myself the princess I was supposed to be... And now I've taken from you something you clearly hold dear... Say your final goodbyes, Reiji-san. That neurotoxin is of my own design, and none of my test subjects lasted longer than an hour once it had been introduced to their system." Suki turned to move through the crowd, confident in her victory, but the feeling was short lived.

Everyone in the room suddenly felt the stifling feeling of all six Sakamaki princes in the same room. Their combined power pushed many of the weaker vampires forcefully to their knees in obeisance. Kanato, the moody, childish brother appeared in front of Suki, his brows furrowed in anger.

"How dare you touch her! Now who will make my pancakes?! Should I just eat you instead?" he screamed at the girl. Behind him, his twins blocked Suki's escape routes, both equally angry. Laito rarely stopped smiling, but even his lips pouted, and his fedora hung low over hard-looking eyes. Even Shu stood near the back of the room, leaning against the wall, his eyes-surprisingly-wide open.

Reiji was on his knees, cradling Masumi's limp body as he examined the knife and the traces of poison left on it. Subaru crouched down next to him. Without looking up at his youngest brother, he asked,

"Can I remove the blade now?" The family expert on such things, Subaru nodded.

"It's already done its worst," he replied quietly. "The wound itself would heal with time, but the poison..."

Reiji clenched his teeth, his elongated canines showing. "I am very much aware of what the poison will do," he said, his voice lower than normal. Gathering Masumi's slight body in his arms, he faced his older brother. "I need to get her back to my lab. I can't apparate that distance, so I'll need the car." His voice was void of its usual contempt, and Shuu inclined his head slightly to show he recognized the shift in their relationship, even if only temporarily.

"I'll see that the others make it back to the mansion. The car is waiting out front." Reiji spun on his heels immediately, striding swiftly through the classroom door and toward the school's foyer. Behind him, he heard Shuu mutter "What a pain..." but knew he would follow through on his promise. Unconcerned now about how and when his brothers would return to the house, he ordered his familiar (the car's driver) to take them home as quickly as possible. His window of opportunity was shortening with every second they spent on the road. Until he reached his lab, there was nothing he could do. With Masumi laid out across his lap, he leaned his head back to think... to make use of this idle time. He hoped it would be enough.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Masumi was conscious. But her limbs felt so heavy, like lead was weighing them down, and she couldn't move them at all. She couldn't even open her eyes to look up at Reiji's face, though she could vaguely feel his arms around her, cradling her to his chest. He laid her down on his lap gently, and she heard a car engine start. _Ah, how frustrating this is! To be able to feel, to hear, everything... To be fully aware of my death approaching but to be able to do nothing about it_ , Masumi thought. _How ironic. Only a few months ago this was my reality, yet now I am nearly overcome by the unfairness of it all. If He hadn't shown up in my hospital room that day, this is exactly how I would have died... Perhaps I cannot escape this fate_ , she mused sadly, trying to ignore the uncomfortable stiffening of the blood in her veins, trying to stay lucid through it all. It was so hard not to just succumb to the nothingness... She knew the poison was spreading, could almost feel it flooding her system, beginning to halt vital functions. When it reached her heart, she would breathe her last.

"I forbid you to die, Yatari-san." Reiji seemed to have read her mind. "Need I remind you that you are still in my service? I own you. You are..." Reiji trailed off, his voice uncharacteristically thick with some sort of emotion. "...you are MINE, Masumi." Silence reigned in the car once again, but it felt... heavier than before. Not the silence of the vampire prince thinking, of absent communication between the two scientists, no, this silence felt... like words unspoken. Reiji couldn't vocalize how he felt, so he was quiet. Outside the car, the darkened sky finally opened itself to pour out a fierce storm. Thunder cracked. Reiji lifted Masumi's limp form once more, and carried her into the mansion, apparating into his bedroom immediately. Laying her gently on the dark covers, he brushed her bangs away from her face with an ungloved hand. It was perhaps the most tender touch he'd ever gifted her with, and it made Masumi's chest seize up.

 _He's scared_ , she realized with a start. _He's genuinely worried... for me_. But as his soft footsteps faded into the adjoining lab, Masumi was left again to focus on nothing but the poison tearing through her system, and all other thoughts faded.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

He had exactly thirty-six minutes before the poison on the knife she'd taken for him killed her. Thirty-six minutes before he lost his assistant, his plaything... Thirty-six minutes before it would be too late to tell her all the things he hadn't been able to say in the car, all the things that ran through his mind as he tried desperately to figure out how to help her.

 _The poison required introduction to her circulatory system, and was then fast-acting... It was thin and nearly imperceptible upon the blade until it had already taken effect... and she seems to still have some level of awareness within her comatose state, meaning it has so far left her mind unaffected, but it is attacking her blood, preventing it from reaching vital organs..._ He ran through all the facts he knew in his head as he pulled out various beakers, solutions, and reagents. Pulling the blade from his pocket, he unwrapped the handkerchief he'd used to handle it with, and extracted some of the remaining poison from the cloth. It was the best sample he was going to get. Separating the sample into several test tubes and adding several different reagents, he set about conducting four different tests at the same time.

He needed to know if it could be counteracted, diluted, and reversed. If it were a simple chemical mixture of poisons, he'd likely have all the ingredients necessary to make an antidote right there in his lab. But if, as he suspected, Suki had indeed concocted something new, a revenge drug that only she could make, his chances of finding out its exact chemical makeup and a counter-solution would be very slim indeed. He didn't have enough time for all that. As it was, the four tests would take up a large portion of the thirty minutes remaining, and Masumi's heart and lungs could malfunction even before that. Not only were they not getting their steady supply of fresh blood, they were also beginning to lack the fresh oxygen that accompanied said blood. She was suffocating from the inside out. What Reiji needed was something stronger than any chemical solution Suki could have combined. Something capable of treating unknown afflictions, of rendering them completely ineffective...

He needed whatever it was his father had given Masumi before she came to stay at the mansion. But how to get it? He and his father weren't exactly on speaking terms, and he doubted Karlheinz would have told him what he needed to know even if they were. He was infuriating like that.

 _Think. THINK!_ Reiji ripped his glasses off his face and nearly smashed them against the table. Only the blood of a powerful vampire could have cured Masumi before, but such a cure would also have turned her. How had Karlheinz diluted his blood enough to heal but not change? What had he mixed it with?

His books were scattered all over the floor of his lab, but still he was flipping through a journal on traceless poisons and venoms. His fingers stilled over the page, just as he was about to turn it, and without meaning to, he whispered aloud:

"I just need this to work." Going to where he'd laid the blade on the counter, he extracted the last few liquified drops of poison and placed them in a syringe. Rushing around his lab, he pulled out the necessary supplies-an attachable needle, two unused sets of syringes and needles, a tourniquet, and an empty vial.

Reiji proceeded to strip off his overcoat, vest, and dress shirt, discarding them without thought on the lab floor. They didn't matter. Not right now. Not anymore. Standing in nothing now but his uniform pants, Reiji used his opposite hand and teeth to tie the tourniquet around his left arm. Just as he finished injecting the poison into his own vein, Laito appeared at the doorway.

"I didn't think you were the sort of man to follow a lover into the grave, Reiji-san," Laito said lightly, leaning against the door jamb. "How romantic, nfu~"

Reiji scoffed. "Don't be ridiculous. This poison will hardly do any damage to _me_... But... I need- I require your assistance, Laito. As you can see, my usual helper is...  indisposed at the moment..." Reiji tried to maintain his usual condescending tone, but apparently failed. Laito just raised an eyebrow and stepped further into the lab... His first time ever doing so.

"Hmm, I'm quite fond of medical foreplay, so I can help you out, I suppose," he agreed with his sly smile. "At least, I know my way around a needle."

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Repositioning his glasses on his face, Reiji could still feel the poison lingering in his soft tissues. It was an unpleasant sort of ache, and he didn't know how a mere human could tolerate the level of pain the poison was meant to inflict... But then, Masumi was no ordinary human, and her sensitivity to pain was significantly dulled. So perhaps it was bearable. Reiji swirled the antibodies (taken from his own body), purified serum, and a small measure of his healthy blood (a small amount of which he always kept on hand, locked securely away) together in a vial before extracting it into the last syringe. He didn't know if the potion would dilute his blood enough to keep from turning her, but at that moment, it was sort of the least of his concerns. A vampirette-Masumi would likely be a more efficient assistant anyway.

It was the first time he'd ever experimented on himself, and he couldn't say it was an enjoyable experience. But it was also the first time he'd felt uneasy with experimenting on the life of a human subject, something he normally took great pleasure in. _What_ _is_ _it about this girl?_ It was really a rhetorical question. He knew the answer, even if he couldn't yet admit it to himself. Kneeling at his bedside, his brothers and their mates arranged in various poses around the room, Reiji unfolded one of Masumi's arms carefully. The injection took mere moments, and then the horrible waiting began.

Interlacing his fingers with hers, Reiji forgot for a moment that they had an audience, and he pressed his forehead to the bed at her side. "Please, Masumi... wake up," he whispered. There was, of course, no reply. "I haven't told you... There are so many things I should have said... I-I think I love you," he finished, lamely. There was a soft intake of breath, and then her eyes fluttered open.

"Reiji-san?" Masumi murmured softly. "Why are you kneeling?" She began to sit up, and Reiji guided her with one strong arm behind her back. He ignored her question, just gazing into her eyes for a long, silent moment.

"I suppose it is my turn to apologize for my appearance," he said instead. Masumi's cheeks flushed as she noticed the vampire prince was shirtless, chest bared for all their guests to see.

"I guess it's my fault you were forced into such an.. indecent position," she said with a nervous chuckle, twisting her (strangely non-injured) hands together in her lap. Reiji reached up to push his glasses up his nose.

"I suppose we can postpone your punishment a few days... Until you've regained your strength."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Several days later, Masumi was back to her usual self. She assisted Reiji in the lab in the evening, made Kanato pancakes for breakfast, and still managed to complete her own studies. In fact, she was feeling so good, that she'd rearranged all the silverware right before breakfast, just to antagonize her dark-haired prince.

As she stood before Reiji, listening to his stern lecture, a small smile played on her lips. Interrupting his tirade on the proper alignment of spoons, Masumi reached up and pulled Reiji down by the back of his neck. To the rest of the family, it seemed as though the couple spoke softly to each other, faces only an inch apart.

"If you're really that upset about the spoons, Reiji, you could just skip the lecture and get straight to my punishment..." Masumi cooed, her cheeks flushing and pupils dilating as she got a little worked up over her boyfriend's closeness. In turn, Reiji's eyelids lowered as he became completely consumed by her presence. _Am I to be held in such awe of this woman forever?_ he wondered. _Ahh, sweet perfection_...

Masumi stretched up on tiptoes to press a soft, but sure kiss to his lips, and Reiji's first instinct was to stiffen. _It isn't proper to do such things in public,_ he thought, _but..._

Masumi felt his gloved-hand wrap around her waist and his lips soften from their hard line beneath hers. His mouth opened just slightly and Masumi knew he had closed his eyes, surrendering fully to the kiss. Angling his head a bit further to the side, Reiji deepened the kiss, tongue sweeping into her mouth, searching, tasting, demanding... _So like Reiji_ , she thought, suppressing the urge to smile.

They eventually pulled apart, but Reiji's lids were still lowered, and his hand still rested in the curve at the base of her spine when he said softly, "Please don't toy with me. It will take much more than this to satisfy me tonight." Tilting her head to the side, he sank his fangs into the smooth, pale column of her throat, and above him Masumi hissed in pain... And then she smiled, revealing two sharp white canines.


End file.
